Withdrawals
by melabelo
Summary: "You say you're not the one for me, that I should find someone my age, but then why do I keep falling for you." A senior in high school finds solace in a small bakery, whose owner somehow finds a way into the teenager's heart.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own any of the characters from Naruto.**

* * *

He sat at the seat closest to the window with his head bent over his homework he was trying to finish. It was already way past when school ended but Sasuke decided to stay to finish his work. He would not admit it but this had become sort of his routine now, trying to take as much time as he could just so he did not have to go to an empty house. Itachi would be home late at night, as usual so it was mostly silent rooms and lonely dinners. No one would like that. But Sasuke never admitted that it bothered him, because he either failed to realize it or did not want to realize it. It being that how alone he was actually feeling in this world.

Packing his stuff in his bag, he finally decided to leave as the sun was slowly beginning to set. How long had he stayed at school today? 2 hours? He did not care. At least that was what he told himself.

"Hey, pass the ball here, you idiot!" Sasuke faintly heard someone yell as he walked towards the entrance of the school. Judging by the time and the owner of that voice, it was probably the soccer team that was still practicing in the field.

Reluctantly, he took a detour and headed towards field where he could see people from his school running and playing. He kept his distance but still stood in his spot to see what they were doing. He could not believe he was a part of this team once. The same team that was running across the field laughing and cursing with sweat drenching each and every one of them. How had he been able to do that so carefree back then.

As soon as he caught sight of a blonde head running in his direction, Sasuke decided to take his leave. He was still friends with the people on the team, but he was not in any mood to talk to them today, especially Naruto. He was Sasuke's best friend, although the jury was still out on that one, and he was one of the few who had forced Sasuke to stay in touch with him. He had also been there when he found out he could not play on the soccer team again. Even though Sasuke appreciated Naruto's efforts, sometimes he just needed some space and time to himself.

Right at that moment his phone began to vibrate. Seeing the caller ID to be Itachi, he answered with a sigh.

"Hello, Sasuke are you there?" Itachi asked when no one spoke on the other end.

"Yeah," Sasuke answered as he walked to his house.

"Are you at home?"

"…Yeah," Sasuke answered as he looked at the sky above him.

"Ok… I just called to tell you that I won't be able to come home until later so you can have dinner without me. Order takeout if you don't want to cook." Sasuke sighed thinking how predictable this had become now.

"Got it, anything else?"

"No...that was it," Itachi answered, "then I'll see you later."

"Hn," Sasuke ended the call without waiting to hear Itachi's response.

This was how things had been ever since their parents died and Itachi joined the company. It used to be better when Itachi was still in college but once he took over his father's position, he became busy to the point of being almost nonexistent in Sasuke's life. Sasuke knew it was not his brother's fault and that he was doing what was best for them, he had to be the one to take the position, but it did not make things any better.

There was a time when things were bearable, when the empty house, and Itachi's absence did not affect him as much, but now he did not have that either. Playing soccer was his solace from all the things he wanted to avoid. Now he had no choice but to face them, the empty house that was once not so empty.

...

* * *

"How are things going over there?" she asked the person on the other end of the call.

"We're managing it somehow." She could almost hear his smile through his voice, "We'll have this place in one piece when you come back, that much I can promise."

Hinata chuckled as she held her phone between her shoulder and her ear. She was unpacking her things from her bag as she spoke to Chouji. She wanted nothing more than to be anywhere but where she was now, and no place seemed better to her than her little bakery in Konoha. It was a small place that was barely crowded but it was hers. She had worked hard to start her own business and Chouji was someone she had hired to help her. Now she had to leave Konoha for a little while and the only person she could trust to take care of her shop was Chouji.

"Thank you, Chouji. I'll see you when Im done here." She said as she finally finished unpacking.

"Don't worry about anything and just focus on what you went for, okay. Take care," and with that Chouji ended the call.

Hinata laid back on the bed in her hotel room, sighing as she realized how tired she was after traveling for so long. She just wished she did not have to be here in the first place.

...

* * *

The next day Sasuke's hand kept shaking. He did not know why it did that but his body was going through a constant buzzing. It didn't help that the girls around school were hyperaware of him today. Valentine's day was always the worst day for him.

He hid in the boy's restroom trying to wait out the crowd before going to class. He waited until the bell rang hoping that everyone would be in their classes by now. It was like this every year and he was even sure that by now the teachers knew not to give him a tardy warning on Valentine's Day because he was always late that day.

Somehow, he had managed to survive the day unscathed, although he did have a heaping pile of chocolates and letters at the end of the day. It was a shame that all of it would have to go in the trash. He did not like sweets and neither did he have the time or patience to read through each letter. Why did people not get the hint already? He was not interested in any of this, and forcing it on him would not magically make him like them either.

Taking the same route as always, Sasuke walked out of his school to go home. It was such a nice weather and he would have enjoyed playing outside today if he could. Cursing out his frustration, he decided to take a different route, one that would take longer to get home.

As he walked through the new street, he passed by something that caught his attention.

"Help wanted," he read the sign on the glass window. It hung outside a small bakery on the street.

Staring at the sign Sasuke thought of something absurd. What if instead of wasting time here and there just so he does not have to go home, he worked-

"No," he answered his own question, but still kept staring at the sign.

People were walking in and out of the bakery while Sasuke just stood there contemplating. It did not seem like a bad idea.

Shrugging away his indecision, Sasuke walked into the shop and asked the girl at the counter for an application. After some ogling she finally brought it out for him.

He hated going back to an empty place so he had to find a way or an excuse to stay out so Itachi wouldn't get suspicious. On the plus side, he would also get to make some money if he got the job.

He dropped off his application and contact information in the application box, and hoped that he would hear from them soon. He was bad with patience and even though he hated sweets he just felt that this might be the perfect place to hide after school.

It didn't take long for Sasuke to hear back from the bakery either. The next day he had a response in his email asking him to come down for an interview, and after meeting with the assistant manager, Chouji, Sasuke was pretty confident that he got the job.

So now Sasuke was in the bakery working after school hours trying to use up hours in the day so he could spend less time at home.

...

* * *

"Sasuke, can you get that down for me?" asked his brunette coworker.

Tenten was the same age as him but went to a different school than his, which was why he had never seen her before. She seemed like a nice girl but she would always flirt with him whenever she got the chance. Even then, she still managed to get her work done properly so Sasuke was never annoyed by her too much which was nice. He would hate to work with people he could not stand.

"What's with all the decorations?" he asked as he brought down the box she had asked for.

"Oh, didn't you hear? The owner of the bakery is coming back. She was gone for the past two months because of some family emergency. So now the assistant manager wanted to hold a little surprise for her." Sasuke quirked an eyebrow in question. "I think he probably likes her." Tenten winked.

"Who is this owner anyway?" Sasuke asked curiously. He had never seen his boss so it was natural to ask about her especially if he wanted to make a decent first impression. He did not care for what people thought but so far he liked working here and he did not want to leave.

"You haven't met her?" Sasuke shook his head. "Oh, that's right! You started just a week ago. She's really sweet! She usually bakes all the desserts in the shop, but since she was gone Chouji had to cook the deserts as well, and I don't think he was doing a very good job." She whispered the last part. "It used to be pretty busy in here, but sales have gone down since she left. I hope it gets back up once she comes back. You get a lot more tips when there's more people coming in to eat," she sighed.

"Hn." Sasuke went to the register to continue working while Tenten went back to setting up the decorations. Honestly, he did not care much about any of it so he was unaffected.

The next day, Sasuke walked to his locker after school to drop off his books. Once he finished, he closed it and left school to head to his work, but not before a familiar face stopped him.

"Sasuke, how are you?" Sakura asked as she jogged a little to catch up to him.

"Fine," he replied curtly as he picked up some speed.

Sasuke had not seen much of the people he used to hangout with, which included Sakura, and he knew that just like Naruto, she would try to get him to go out with everyone. It was a kind effort but Sasuke was already sick and tired of both of them being so pushy. Could they not give him some space?

Sakura knew that he had been upset when he got injured and could not play anymore, but slowly as time went by, he was becoming a recluse. He was not always sociable but he was never one to be without company like Naruto or the crowd of his fan-girls. It hurt Sakura to see him constantly reject their offers to join them whenever they wanted to go out with friends.

"So there's this party-"

"I'm not going." Sasuke cut her off.

"But you didn't even let me finish."

"I'm busy Sakura. I can't go."

"You don't even know when it is." Sakura frowned.

"Fine," he sighed, "when is it?"

"This weekend."

"I can't come."

"What! Why?" She pouted.

"I have work." For the first time he had a legitimate excuse. He had taken up as many hours as they would allow at the bakery, even on the weekends because those were the worst. Staying at home alone all day while Itachi was holed up in his office always made Sasuke feel frustrated enough to do something stupid again.

"Oh…really? Where do you work?" Sakura asked with a smile. It was good to find out that Sasuke was doing something instead of just isolating himself in his home.

"I'm not telling you."

"Why not?" Her face fell from its cheerful expression at his words.

"Because if I tell you then the idiot finds out, and then everyone is going to show up to bother me at my work." Sasuke scowled.

"I promise I won't tell Naruto!" she pleaded.

"I don't care." Sasuke quickly turned down a different street leaving Sakura behind. Hopefully she would not think to follow him.

...

* * *

"This was very nice of you Chouji." Hinata smiled at the man as he welcomed her back to her bakery. She had been gone far longer than she had anticipated so it was nice to be back. She could see a few new faces among the familiar ones. Her assistant must have hired more people while she was gone.

Hinata got back to work as soon as she came back. Her love for baking and cooking was always overwhelming that sometimes she would stay in the kitchen nonstop for hours just to finish a project or an order.

As soon as everyone was done greeting Hinata, they all went back to work, while she stepped out to make a quick phone call.

Sasuke arrived to his work on time as usual even though he was stuck talking to Sakura for a few minutes after school. After placing his backpack in the employee's room, Sasuke clocked in and went to work the register.

Hinata walked back into the bakery and smiled at the young man who was working at the cash register. He was another new face that was probably hired after Hinata left. The boy looked at her impassively and Hinata frowned inwardly as he kept staring at her.

Sasuke looked at the woman who had just walked in and smiled at him. He assumed that she was a customer but she never came to the register. Instead, she went all the way to the side where there was an opening to walk behind the counter and into the kitchen.

Sasuke frowned as he realized where the woman was going. Only employees were allowed to go there so he walked up to her and blocked her entrance before she could go any further behind the counter.

"Where do you think you're going?" He glared at her. Since he was taller than her, he stood over her small frame, trying to intimidate her and it worked.

"E-excuse me?" She flushed at the way her employee spoke to her.

"You're not allowed here," he said impassively yet his expression did not change. "This area is only for employees." He eyed her suspiciously.

"I know that." She stood straighter in front him, remembering that she was his boss.

"Then get out." He raised an eyebrow as if to challenge her to disobey him.

"I own this place." Hinata frowned yet her cheeks were tinged red. She could see in his eyes when realization hit him as he remembered that his boss was supposed to be back today but his face remained straight as ever.

"Hn," he replied curtly and stepped aside.

Hinata all but ran into the kitchen as her heart threatened to beat out of her chest. She was actually scared and for a minute she did not know what to do when he glared at her. He could be really intimidating.

Peeking a glance through the glass in the kitchen's door, Hinata saw the boy's back as he worked on the register. As if feeling her eyes on him, he turned to look back from the corner of his eyes. Hinata yelped and sped off without sparing him another glance for the rest of the day.

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 _Thank you for reading my fic, and please don't forget to review!_


	2. Chapter 2

**I forgot to mention earlier, this story will be slow in the beginning. Not too slow, but just enough. A slow burn.**

* * *

Sasuke did not think he would come to like working in a place like this as much as he did. It was a little farther from his school so it felt secluded from the people who knew him, and that was just one of the things he liked about it.

"Off already?" Tenten asked as she walked into the employee's room. Sasuke was in there packing his stuff, almost ready to leave.

"Yeah," Sasuke responded and began heading out with his backpack.

"See ya tomorrow!" Tenten called to which Sasuke just nodded and left.

As soon as he walked out of the room, he saw the one person he had been subtly trying to avoid today.

He had not meant to leave a bad impression on his boss, but seeing how she immediately looked away and ignored him as soon as their eyes met, Sasuke was actually bothered. He had come to like working at this place, and it would be a shame if she were to make it awkward, or worse fire him for an incident like that. He realized he seemed rude to his boss but he was only doing his job.

The next day at work, Sasuke decided there was no need to ponder much over what had happened. He was going to be like he usually was and if the woman created any problems for him then he would deal with them then.

Hearing the jingle of the door being open, Sasuke looked up from behind the counter to see who had walked in, and just like déjà vu, the woman walked in and smiled at him as if it was the most natural thing. Soon he realized that it was just a natural response for her because her smile faltered a little once she saw who was actually standing behind the counter.

As smoothly as she could, Hinata walked up to the opening in the counter to go to the kitchen in the back. But before she could step across, she looked at the boy who was subtly trying to look at her from the corner of his eyes.

"Y-you're not going to stop me today?" Hinata asked as she turned towards him.

After hearing her question, Sasuke also turned and was now fully staring at her. He raised an eyebrow as if to ask what she meant.

Hinata laughed awkwardly at her lame attempt at making a joke. She had gotten to know all the new people working at the bakery so far, but he was the only one she had yet to meet, and her tactless icebreaker was not helping either.

Hinata internally cursed at herself as soon as it looked like Sasuke was going to say something, but before he could she spoke in a rushed breath.

"Haha," she awkwardly laughed while blushing, "that was a stupid joke. Just ignore that…W-work hard." Hinata smiled and walked right into the kitchen before he could say anything.

After entering the kitchen, she slowly turned to see the boy's reaction outside through the glass window. At his confused expression and furrowed brows, Hinata blushed a darker shade and decided this was the best time to get back to work.

…

* * *

As far as jokes went, Sasuke was confused why Hinata would make a joke like that.

He shook his head as if to say he did not know, and began walking down the street to his house. He had not seen much of her at work today either, not to say he was expecting to, but it was interesting to know she was in the back the entire time. Did she never leave that place until she was done?

Sasuke felt his phone vibrate in his pocket as he walked in the dim light of the sun set.

He answered the phone without waiting, even though it was Itachi, and knowing him, Sasuke had an idea of what the call was likely about.

"You don't need to call every time you can't eat dinner with me," Sasuke spoke into the phone.

"Well, this time I'm calling to ask where you are? It's been hours since your school ended and you haven't arrived home yet." Itachi sounded slightly concerned but Sasuke decided to ignored it.

"Are you at home?" he asked skeptically.

"Yes. I finished earlier than expected so I just got here. But why aren't you home yet?"

"Oh... well, I was…I'll tell you when I get home." Sasuke sighed.

He had been irritated at the fact that itachi had been too busy to even show his face to him once in a while, but now that he was there, Sasuke did not look forward to explaining to him.

"So, you took up a job?" Itachi stated more than asked. He had a thoughtful look on his face as he processed what Sasuke told him. "Where are you working?"

"In a bakery on 5th street," Sasuke simply stated as he continued to eat his pasta that Itachi had cooked earlier. It was about the only thing Itachi could cook perfectly.

"Bakery? But you hated sweet things." Now Itachi's expression turned even more confused as he furrowed his brows and stared at Sasuke.

"Yeah, I still do. But a bakery doesn't only serve sweet things." Sasuke shrugged.

"But you _hate_ anything with sugar." Itachi stated again, emphasizing the word "hate".

"What does that have to do with where I work?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow as he looked at his brother. He did not like that Itachi kept reiterating that fact. There was nothing more to it than a matter of preference.

"I just…didn't expect you to find work in a place like that. Of all the places…a bakery?" Itachi asked.

"It's just a part-time," Sasuke was annoyed now, "besides, I kind of like it."

"Oh?" Sasuke could see that Itachi was having a hard time believing that but at this point he was too annoyed to continue with that subject.

The rest of their dinner went in silence with a few words exchanged about school and Itachi's work, but in the end Sasuke was just glad that Itachi was able to come home early tonight.

The next day, early morning, the bell jingled on the door to indicate someone had walked in. Hinata walked out of the kitchen and towards the register to greet the person standing on the other side. He had a black suit on, the expensive kind, and Hinata could only assume he was there to pick something for breakfast before work.

"How can I help you?" she smiled at the customer.

At early mornings, there were not many people working at the bakery so usually that left Hinata to be in the shop with one or two other people, sometimes on her own.

"Are you the owner?" the man asked as he looked straight at her. His voice was deep and eloquent, but Hinata thought his eyes were the most captivating part.

"Y-yes, I am" Hinata blushed at her stutter, and cursed herself mentally for feeling like a schoolgirl. It seemed that the man's charm was reverting her in years to a time when she would only stutter and blush. Oddly enough she had not realized there was someone else who was putting her in that state too.

"Sorry to bother you at a time like this, but I just wanted to see what kind of a place my brother worked at." Itachi spoke to the woman as he began scanning the small bakery. "Do you work here alone usually?"

"No, I have other employees throughout the day. The mornings are less busy usually." Hinata answered straightforwardly as her mind began to think about who the man was talking about.

Itachi looked around a bit more, scanning the items in the glass counter and walking around the tables. Once he was done, he came back to the counter and looked at Hinata once again.

Hinata could see he was contemplating something, as if he was reluctant.

"What is your name?" He finally asked.

"Hinata Hyuga," she answered, "are you worried about your br-"

"Ms. Hyuga," Itachi cut her off as he tried to remember why her name seemed strange. There were plenty of Hyugas living in Konoha so it wasn't odd to find one in a bakery, but her name in particular sounded familiar. "I know my brother is going to turn eighteen in a few months and for some it is considered adulthood…But I still can't seem to let go of my worry for him. He is my baby brother…and he has never fared well with new people, especially recently." Itachi spoke honestly to the woman in front of him and it was slightly unnerving to disclose this, but he needed her to understand why he was there and he needed to know what kind of a woman his little brother was working for. Also, calling Sasuke his baby brother gave him a little satisfaction inside as he knew how much it would bother the teenager if he found out.

Hinata understood what Itachi meant when he spoke of his brother. Having a younger sister of her own, she knew what it was like to not help but worry.

"I understand how you feel. Please let me know who your brother is and I will try to make him as comfortable here as possible," Hinata smiled trying to show that she wanted to help him.

Hinata thought that it must be serious if the man was there looking around and talking to her. Maybe his brother had a hard time dealing with people, but Hinata could not remember meeting any of her employees that seemed to be like that.

"Thank you, Ms. Hyuga. I would like you to take my card so you can call me whenever something occurs with my brother." Itachi took out his wallet and handed her a business card which she took.

"Itachi…Uchiha," she whispered his name as she read it from the card. "I will definitely let you know if something comes up, Mr. Uchiha." Hinata gave a reassuring smile as the man nodded.

"I appreciate that. I'll head out now. Sorry for disturbing you."

"No, that's alright," Hinata answered as the man turned to leave.

She watched him head out the door, but before he completely left, he stopped to say one last thing.

"Oh, by the way, my brother's name is Sasuke."

"Sasuke, got it." Hinata smiled one last time before Itachi left for his work.

After he left, Hinata began preparing her bakery for the day. The man's actions had seemed slightly overbearing but nonetheless she understood. Now, the first thing she had to do was figure out who Sasuke was.

Later that day in the afternoon, when her bakery was filled with people and her employees, Hinata discreetly went around reading what was written on the name tags. She was trying to find the one named Sasuke as she remembered Itachi's visit in the morning. She knew mostly everyone, but it was mainly the new ones that were hired after she left that she did not remember the names of.

Once she found who the owner of that name was, Hinata could do nothing but stand in front of the boy and stare at him while being surprised. In her mind, this boy who turned out to be Sasuke, needed no help from her, especially when it came to dealing with the people around him. He would shoot one glare and no one would dare to bother him anymore. Just like how he had glared at her when they first met, and just like how he was doing it to her right now.

...

* * *

"You're doing such a good job," Hinata told Sasuke as he was trying to write a birthday message on a cake. "I didn't know you could be so artistic."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in question at her since the only "art" he had done was put a little swirl in one of the letters in the name.

It had been a few days since Itachi visited the bakery, and Hinata had been trying hard to be nice to Sasuke, especially since she had acted awkwardly around him in the beginning.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was getting a bit annoyed at how she was treated him. It was obvious she was trying to be nicer to him, but the exaggerated compliments she kept giving him were a bit too much. He felt like he was in kindergarten, and she was his teacher trying to sweet talk him to work more. But nonetheless, Sasuke did not say anything to the woman. At least now he did not have to deal with her awkwardness.

And so, days went by with Sasuke working around the bakery, while Hinata kept an eye out for him. She knew that Itachi could have just been some overbearing family member seeing how Sasuke was capable on his own, but what if there was something the boy was going through and she just could not see it.

"Why do you work here?" Hinata asked Sasuke one day as he was loading some boxes into the pantry.

Sasuke slightly hesitated with the next box when she asked that question, but his movements seemed smooth enough to not garner any attention to his reaction. He was just surprised by her question and what it could imply. Was what she was doing all leading up to this? Was she going to fire him?

"Do I need a reason to work here?" Sasuke asked impassively, as he placed the box on the floor.

"No," Hinata shook her head, "but you just don't seem like the kind of guy who would work in a small place like this." Hinata stood on a small stepladder trying to organize and take inventory of the items on the shelves while she spoke to him.

Sasuke just shrugged in response, not wanting to give her an explanation. Sometimes he wondered himself why he was there in the first place.

"I guess…I just wanted to try something new." He finally answered after a little while.

Hinata smiled at his response and continued working without asking him anymore questions.

"I think that's about all of them," Hinata said as Sasuke placed the last box on the floor. "Thank you for bringing the boxes in."

"Hn." Once there was nothing else for him to do, Sasuke left the pantry.

Today was a weekend, and he always took those shifts whenever they were available, but somehow it seemed as though he worked a lot more today than any other day. It was almost time to close the shop too as it was getting darker outside.

"Ms. Hinata, I'm going to leave a little early, if that's okay," Tenten spoke to the woman who was still in the pantry.

"Sure, that's fine. Have a good rest of the weekend." Hinata smiled at the brunette girl and went back to organizing the pantry.

"Thank you! You have a good one too." Tenten went back to the employee room to gather her stuff and when she came out she left from the front of the bakery while tossing a "See ya" to Sasuke, leaving him and Hinata to be the only ones in the bakery.

After Tenten left, Sasuke began cleaning up and closing the store. It was almost time for him to get off as well. He worked quietly at the front as he cleared the tables, all the while Hinata was still in the pantry.

After a little while, when it got really quiet, Sasuke heard someone humming. It was coming from the pantry which only meant that it was Hinata. Slowly, he decided to see what the woman was doing since she could get really clumsy sometimes.

As he quietly reached the door, he looked in to find Hinata still in the same place as she was earlier, but this time she was humming some song, and tapping her foot to a rhythm in her head, all the while looking at the list of inventories she had created today. She was so into what she was doing that she did not see Sasuke walking in, and it got worse when she started bobbing her head. When her hips began moving too as if she was dancing, Sasuke decided that it had gone long enough before she did something else.

"You can do the rest tomorrow. It's time to close up." Sasuke stood a few feet from her as he watched how she reacted to his voice.

As soon as she heard him speak, Hinata froze thinking how long had he stood there. Slowly, she turned to stare at him with wide eyes and a pink blush on her cheeks that was so unique to her. Sasuke was sure that the blush was just a part of her features at this point.

"H-h-how long w-were…?" Her stutter returned worse than it had ever before, but Sasuke actually found that reaction quite funny, so much so that he almost smirked.

"Long enough," at that he actually smirked, looking at the woman in front of him as she turned even more red.

* * *

 _Thank you for reading this chapter, for favoriting and following this story, and thank you to those who commented on the previous chapter. You are all special to me since it was my first chapter._

 _Please don't forget to review!_


	3. Chapter 3

**It was mentioned in the reviews that the partitions in the story were hard to see so I made them more prominent. I hope that helps.**

* * *

"My friend sent me this picture yesterday. Tell me if you think he's cute." A group of girls in school were sitting under a tree during lunch, talking and eating amongst their friends. One of the girls brought forth her phone to show a picture to another girl.

"I can't see his face that well," the other girl pouted. "But he does seem handsome," she winked.

"My cousin went to this bakery last week on her way to work, and she saw this really handsome guy working there so she took a picture," she laughed. "She was trying to be discreet."

"Hey let me see!" Another girl asked as she heard their conversation. She peered over the girl's shoulder to see the picture on the phone she was holding. "Yeah, he's tall too. But why is his face kind of blurry," she said to the girl who had the picture.

"Blame my cousin for that," the girl shrugged.

"Hey, guys…doesn't it kind of look like Sasuke?" Suddenly all the three of them got quiet as they turned their eyes to look at the picture one more time.

"Yeah, it does," said the first one.

"Do you…think it's him?" asked another.

"Hmm…It does look like him…Maybe we can ask Sakura. She usually knows everything about him."

...

* * *

...

"H-h-how long w-were…?"

"Long enough."

Hinata gaped at the boy, who was standing at the entrance to the pantry, as she realized what she had been doing just now. She could not believe one of her employees caught her acting like an idiot. And what was worse was that the employee happened to be Sasuke who was now smirking at her as if he found it all amusing.

Sasuke could not help but find entertainment in his boss's misery. Her reaction seemed so innocent and sincere that he wanted to tease her a bit more.

"What song was that? I don't think I've heard it," Sasuke said as her eyes grew wider. He raised an eyebrow all the while maintaining his smirk when she began stuttering.

Blushing brighter than she had in a while, Hinata stuttered incoherently before she tried rushing out of the pantry. Sasuke, on the other hand, almost laughed hearing Hinata ramble while he stood there almost blocking her only way out.

In her nervousness as she all but ran out, Hinata had not realized that she was still standing on a stepladder. As soon as she took a step forward, she stumbled and began falling.

When she began falling off the ladder did Sasuke finally lose his smirk and move to catch her. It was an automatic reaction because who would not try to save someone from falling right in front of them.

Hinata closed her eyes to brace for impact when she began falling but it never came. Soon she realized that she was not falling anymore. Something had stopped her fall. Someone had caught her.

Opening her eyes, Hinata slowly looked up to see Sasuke looking down at her. Her hands were on his chest while his arms wrapped around her, holding her in place so she did not fall again.

Realizing the position they were in, Hinata quickly pushed taking an extra step away from Sasuke. She looked down at the floor, trying to hide her blush as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Quietly, she mumbled a thank you and walked out of the pantry without looking back at the boy who just stood there.

Even after she left Sasuke did not dare to move. He was in the same place for a few more minutes with his hands balled into loose fists at his sides while his ears were burning red. For the first time he felt like his skilled mask of indifference broke and he could not control his reaction. His heart was beating at a weird rhythm and his ears felt warm from the blush. His intentions were only to stop her from falling, but in that position he could feel her against him. She was soft, especially her chest, and when she looked up at him like that, it made him feel weird.

Outside the pantry Hinata moved about to make sure everything was in place before she closed her bakery. She was trying hard to ignore what had just happened to make it seem insignificant. It was just a really awkward situation, and nothing more than that, just like how they had first met.

Hesitantly, Sasuke walked out from the pantry just in time to hear the bell on the door jingle from the front.

"We're closed" he said flatly without looking, not wanting to deal with any customers at the moment. When he did not hear the door open again, he walked up to the counter, but upon seeing who it was, he froze.

"Oh!" Hinata saw the girl standing at the door and smiled at her. "I think we have a few minutes before we close. How can we help you?" she asked as she went to stand behind the counter as well.

The girl was young and pretty from what Hinata could tell, but she seemed a little uncertain as if she was not supposed to be there. Looking over to what she was staring at, Hinata saw Sasuke glaring at the girl. He seemed angry, and Hinata had a feeling that this was something that would not involve her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sasuke asked, as he clenched his fists for a second time that day. He could not believe someone from his school would show up here, and knowing who it was made it clear that this was not a coincidence.

"I just…I came for you," she finally spoke, clenching the straps on her purse. It was obvious that she was a little nervous at Sasuke's reaction.

Looking at the girl and how she blushed, it was fairly obvious why she was there for him. Hinata guessed she liked him, but why would such a pretty girl like such an ill-tempered boy was beyond her. Instead, she decided to help her a little.

"I was just about to close," Hinata smiled at the girl, "Sasuke, why don't you head out for today." He turned to look at her from the corner of his eyes before walking away from the counter.

"I'll close up," Sasuke said as if he had not heard Hinata. "It'll take a while so why don't you just leave." He turned to look at the girl, daring her to protest.

Hinata was not going to interfere in something personal that did not relate to her, but as she saw the girl bite her lip to keep it from quivering, she knew she could not just stand by.

"Wait," she whispered to the girl, walking up to her before she left. "Just wait for him outside," she gave her a sympathetic smile. Hinata honestly felt bad for the girl because she knew how hard it was to have feelings for someone who did not return them.

"Sasuke," Hinata spoke once the girl was outside, "why don't you let me close up."

"Aren't the last people on shift supposed to close up. I'm not going to let you do that by yourself," he said as he went to clean up in the back. He had not realized how much was still left to do since they wasted so much time in the pantry. Remembering what had happened there caused Sasuke's ears to turn red again. He tried to hide them by turning away from her as he put away some of the pots and pans in the kitchen.

Hinata frowned at his back since she knew Sasuke did not care about any of the things he said. He was obviously trying to take up time before he left so he could avoid the girl. Hinata huffed in frustration at the boy in front of her as he pretended to put away things where they did not belong.

"Look, it's already past your time to clock out. Are you trying to make me pay you overtime?" Hinata crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at the boy.

Sasuke stopped in his place and slowly turned to look at the woman behind him. He had never heard Hinata use such a serious tone with him, or anyone else for that matter. It sent a chill down his spine seeing her look so stern for the first time. He felt like a child being scolded for acting immature.

"It's getting quite dark outside," her voice softened as she loosened her arms around her. "I don't know why you were so mad at the girl earlier, but she came all this way here for you. Don't let her walk back alone at this time. At least take her to the station." Hinata hoped he would understand as he stood in silence, staring at her as if he was contemplating something.

"Fine," he relented in the end as Hinata smiled at his decision.

He walked back to the employee's room to change and get his stuff before he reluctantly left the bakery. He stopped at the door to look back at the woman still working to close up the shop by herself. For a second he wanted to go back inside, but before he lost his resolve, Sasuke walked out of the bakery to catch up to Sakura. To his surprise she was still standing outside waiting for him.

Her face lit up as she saw Sasuke come out and walk towards her. Even if he had a scowl on his face, Sakura was still glad that the nice lady earlier was able to convince Sasuke to see her.

"How did you find me?" Sasuke asked impassively once they began walking. Sakura had silently followed him as he took the path to the nearest train station.

"I went to your house earlier but you weren't there so I guessed you would be at your work," she smiled as she tilted her head to look up at him. Her smile fell as Sasuke looked down at her from the corner of his eyes.

"That's not what I meant."

"O-oh," Sakura bit her lip before speaking again. "Some of the girls at school had a photo of you working at a bakery." She looked at the ground hoping to avoid Sasuke's glare which she knew was directed at her right now.

"What?" he snapped.

"I-I told them it wasn't you!" Sakura spoke quickly. "The picture was blurry so they believed me, plus they think you don't work so they would never try to look for you." She tried to persuade him before he got even more angry.

"Shit," Sasuke sighed in frustration. He was hoping no one would find him at his work, especially fan girls, but if they did then it would be a damn shame to quit the job. Especially when he was starting to like it.

"I promise I won't tell anyone," Sakura shook her head as she looked at him. "And if they try to find out, I'll…I'll keep them away." Sakura bit her lip once again, hoping that he would trust her and not push her away like so many times he had done before. He was obviously not happy about finding that his fan girls might figure out where he worked. It was always such a marvel and cause for jealousy how he was always at the center of attention when he tried to avoid it so much, but Sakura could see how much it bothered him. No wonder he was so secretive about things like these.

"Hn," Sasuke sighed as he tossed his hand through his hair, and looked ahead at the road. It was frustrating having people snoop through his life like they knew him, but he knew he could trust Sakura to at least keep this to herself. Thinking back to the bakery, he frowned at the realization that Hinata was there all alone right now. She would have to clean up and close the place on her own, and by the time she was done, it would be way later than what it was now.

"Look, I'm not mad at you for finding out," Sasuke spoke once they got to the train station. He shoved his hands in his pockets as they continued walking. "Just don't tell anyone, especially that idiot," he glared at her to add to his demand.

"I promise I won't!" Sakura smiled at him, beaming with a new light. She felt relieved that he was not mad at her, and now she knew where he worked, which was a bakery nonetheless. The idea of him in a place like that made Sakura giggle.

She was happy about the possibility that Sasuke was going back to the way he was before he got injured and left the soccer team. He had become bitter once that had happened, and he had pushed his friends away, isolating himself. Now she was just happy to see him getting out and spending time with people instead of hiding away in his house.

"You aren't coming?" Sakura asked once the train arrived. She had moved to get on it while Sasuke had just stayed in his place.

He shook his head and turned to head back the way they came.

"Wait!" she yelled trying to go to him but the crowd getting on the train made it hard for her to get off.

"I'll see you in school." He looked over his shoulder with a wave and smirked at her, making her pause in her attempts before she smiled and waved back at him.

Sakura went in to the train and sat on the seat closest to the window to see Sasuke's retreating form as he left the platform. Her heart was beating wildly, her smile never leaving her face, and it was all because of that stupid smirk that she just could not get out of her mind.

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...

"Sir, here are the documents from the meeting you asked for," Itachi's assistant walked up to his superior's desk as he presented to him what he was asked to bring.

"Thank you," Itachi said without looking up as he was focused on something on his desk.

His assistant placed the files and bowed his head before turning to leave his office.

"Wait," Itachi said as he held up his hand.

His assistant stopped and turned to look at his boss who was now frowning as he held his chin, deep in thought about something.

"Yes sir," he spoke as he waited for his instructions.

"I need you to do something for me," Itachi gave his assistant a grim look, "strictly off the books." His assistant nodded in understanding since it was not the first time. "I want you to find some information," Itachi continued as he leaned back in his chair, placing his elbows on its arm-handles, and bringing his hands up to join under his chin. "About someone named Hinata Hyuga."

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 _I'm sorry I had to skip last week, and this week I got super late. I should be updating on a regular weekly basis starting now. That is my goal._

 _As always, t_ _hank you for reading this chapter, for favoriting and following this story, and thank you for reviewing. It is such a delight to read them._

 _In response to the question from the anon about their age difference. I won't disclose the exact number right now since it will come up in the story. I want you to find out in the natural flow of things in the story. But, with that being said, the difference isn't something minor like a few years. That is all I can say, just to make sure for any of the readers who don't prefer age gaps._


	4. Chapter 4

**It is a short chapter this time so I apologize in advance.**

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Even though spring was about to start soon, the weather in Konoha still got cold after the sun set.

A chill went through Sasuke's spine as he stuffed his hands further into his pockets. He had just left Sakura at the train station, and now he was making his way back to the bakery.

Halfway through the walk he stopped at the thought of how stupid it was, and almost turned back towards his house. But the idea of Hinata alone at the bakery trying to clean and close up by herself did not sit right with him. Maybe it was the thought of how it seemed like he was shirking his duties, but nonetheless Sasuke felt like he had to go back.

Upon seeing the bakery come closer in his view, he sped up his pace and made his way for the door, but before he could reach it, Hinata walked out. Sasuke froze in his spot right outside the bakery as soon as he saw her come through the door.

"Sasuke?" Hinata stared at him with a confused look as she stood halfway through the doorway. "What are you doing here?" she asked as she finally stepped out. After staring at Sasuke for a few seconds, she tried looking behind him to see if there was anyone else with him. She was half expecting a pink-haired girl to be there.

"I…," Sasuke stared at her with a blank face as he tried to come up with a good reason to give her because, when he actually thought about it, saying that he came back because of her sounded weird. "I walked Sakura to the train station," he finally spoke but soon after cursed himself internally. Why did he think she would need to know that?

Sasuke waited to see what Hinata would say, but suddenly he felt his heart beat at that weird rhythm again, and this time it was accompanied by a clammy feeling in his palms. It was a good thing he still had his hands in his pockets.

He did not know why he felt like that but the small smile that was growing on Hinata's face at the moment did not help calm this feeling any better, and then she laughed. She brought her hand up to her lips to hide her chuckle as Sasuke felt his ears warm up. Had she figured out why he came back?

"I'm glad," Hinata said as she smiled at him from the front of the bakery. She guessed that Sakura was the girl that had come in the bakery earlier.

"Yeah… It was no big deal." Sasuke turned to look at the road, hoping that his ears were not too red to be noticed.

"Well, I'm about to head home," Hinata said as she locked the front of the bakery. "I'll see you tomorrow." She gave him a small wave before walking away from him on the sidewalk.

Sasuke almost took out his hand to wave back at her, but soon stopped himself when he realized what he was about to do.

"Oh," Hinata stopped after taking a few steps and turned to look back at Sasuke, "thank you."

"…for what?" Sasuke asked, confused by her gratitude.

"For coming back to help me." Hinata smiled at him again before she went on her way.

"But…I didn't really…help," Sasuke said to himself, his ears getting warmer once more that day.

Sasuke stood in his spot for a few more minutes as he watched Hinata walk farther away from him. Once she turned the corner and was out of his sight did he finally think to move. He sighed as he shook his head in confusion before he walked in the direction to his house. He did not understand what the weird feeling was earlier but it did not feel unpleasant.

The next day at school, Sasuke sat in his usual spot during lunch, picking at his food without paying much attention to it. He had been out of the soccer team for a while now, yet he was always somehow dragged to hang out with them. Just like now where he was sitting with the team, eating lunch while they spoke about things that did not concern him anymore.

The blonde-haired captain was the one that spoke the loudest on the table, and he was also the one that always tried to keep Sasuke involved. But Sasuke hated having to be there, because it just reminded him of what he did not have anymore.

"Hey Sasuke, where are you going?" Naruto asked as he saw Sasuke get up with his lunch.

Sasuke sighed in frustration because he knew the blond idiot was always persistent.

"I'm not hungry anymore," Sasuke replied without looking back, and walked away from the table.

He could slightly hear the other guys snicker and comment about how there was trouble in paradise, but he was too tired to react to any of their jokes.

And, just like that, days went by where everything seemed the same in Sasuke's life, except for one thing.

"Um...excuse me," Tenten looked up to see the pink-haired girl standing in front of her on the other side of the counter. She did not know the girl's name but she had seen her at the bakery a few times now, and she knew exactly what the girl was going to ask for. "Is Sasuke here?" Every day that she would show up, the pink-haired girl would ask for Sasuke, especially around the end of his shift, and then they would leave together after he would clock out.

"Sasuke!" Tenten yelled at the door behind her. She was getting a little annoyed at the girl since she asked her the same question every time she showed up. Tenten knew that the girl knew Sasuke was there, but she would still ask anyway.

Sasuke walked out from the double doors in the back to see why Tenten had yelled, but when he saw Sakura standing at the counter with a smile on her face and waving at him, he knew why.

"I'll be out in a few minutes," Sasuke sighed as he knew that if Sakura was there then it only meant that his shift was almost over.

He was surprised at first when Sakura had shown up at his work again after the first time, but he did not say anything, hoping that it was just a one time thing. But then she had been showing up almost every day to walk with him after work. He did not know why she was doing this but he honestly wanted to tell her to stop. It was also weird how every time Sakura showed up she always spoke to Hinata like they had known each other for a long time. Sasuke guessed that Sakura liked Hinata, especially since she had convinced him to take her to the train station the first time she showed up.

Sasuke headed towards the employee's room, as he though of a way to tell Sakura to stop coming to his work. He could just be blunt about it but something told him that it would not go well. He grabbed his things and walked out, but before he left the bakery, he got a glimpse of his boss who was working on something in the display. As soon as she saw him looking, she gave him a smile but before she could say anything, Sasuke turned and quickly went out to meet Sakura.

Hinata furrowed her brows and pouted her lips at being ignored but soon shrugged it off as she went back to work, while Sasuke, on the other hand, cursed himself internally as he walked with Sakura.

It had been like this for the past couple of days, since the weekend. Whenever she would look at him, he would turn away, and whenever she would talk to him, he would only give one-word responses and end the conversation quickly. It was not something completely odd since Sasuke was always very quiet and to himself, yet the difference was within himself that only he could feel. His heart's weird rhythm and the warmth that spread to his ears. He hid it well but he always felt them. Why he was being that way, he could not understand, so instead he pushed the feeling away and tried to forget about it. But for how long could he keep it like that.

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 _My goal was to post every week, yet I have already broken it this new year. With my classes starting soon, there is a possibility that my schedule to update this story might be slow, but just please bear with me._

 _Thank you for the awesome reviews last chapter!_

 _And happy new year!_


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: Sasuke is 17 years old here.**

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Sakura had never asked for anything in her life. She was one to believe that if she wanted something, she could attain it through her own efforts, and if it was still unattainable then she had no need for it. Such was the simple belief she lived by for as long as she could remember.

Being amongst the top three academically in her school; having one of the highest scores on the national mock tests; being on track to get a scholarship to one of the best universities in the country. All of these were things she wanted and had achieved through her own efforts so it was obvious that this was how the world worked for her.

But it was not until she experienced her first love that she realized how unfair life can be.

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Hinata stared at the white ceiling right above her that was barely visible in the dimness of her room.

The time was right before sunrise, where it was the darkest in the sky, in Hinata's opinion. She knew this because every morning she would wake up around the same time, before her alarm would go off.

Right now, she was lying in her bed with one arm draped over her head, across her pillow, as she idly twirled a strand of her hair around her finger. She kept staring at the ceiling as she waited for her alarm to go off before she had to leave the comfort of her bed.

These few moments she had before she started her day were the only escape she felt she had from the life that she was living now. In these moments she could forget everything, and pretend to be unattached to anything; any duty, any obligation, or any responsibility.

These past few months had done so much to her that she wanted more and more time in these silent moments to pass just so she could stay in that feeling.

The alarm on the table beside her bed began to ring, signaling the start of a new day in Hinata's life. She pushed herself off the bed as she reached for the alarm to turn it off.

It was now the start of another day that was going to pass by just like any other, yet every new day brought her closer to the one she dreaded.

She walked into her kitchen passed a calendar that hung on her wall, and began preparing her breakfast. The calendar was mostly empty, baring no marks for any future plans Hinata had, except for one that was indicated by a small star in red on a certain date that was coming up in March.

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"Sasuke, can you help me get this jar down?" Hinata asked as she stood on top of a box, trying to reach something on the top shelf in the pantry. She was on her tiptoes as her arm was stretched above her.

"Which one?" Sasuke asked as he approached from behind her. He looked at where she was trying to reach to see what she wanted, but instead he could not find anything.

"That one," she pointed above her, still standing on her tiptoes with her back towards him.

"I don't see anyth—oof!" Hinata twisted her ankle and fell backwards into Sasuke who lost his balance with her weight and fell to the ground.

"Oh no! Sasuke are you okay?" he heard Hinata speak.

His eyes were closed and his back felt sore from the fall, but strangely it did not hurt as much. He groaned when he felt like there was a weight on top of him, but when he slowly opened his eyes, he found two grey pearl-like orbs looking down at him. He had somehow ended up on his back on the ground with Hinata right on top of him.

"Sasuke, are you okay?" She asked again, concern evident in her eyes.

"…yeah," Sasuke gulped as he tried to look somewhere other than Hinata right above him. "Could…could you…get off of me?" Sasuke almost whispered as he felt an all too familiar warmth spread from his neck to his ears. It was the worst time to blush considering the position they were in.

Sasuke paused for a second as he began to think of this situation. How did he even end up in this position? She had fallen but how did it lead to this? Sasuke glanced at the woman above him who was still staring down at him, but something was different about her.

"Sasuke, are you sure you're okay?" she whispered this time as she licked her lips, causing Sasuke to turn even redder than before.

"Hn," he answered, unable to say anything else, as he tried to get up, but Hinata pushed with her hands on his chest causing him to lean back on his elbows. "What are you doing?" he asked, surprised by her actions. His eyes widened and his heart rate quickened as she began to lean closer on to him.

"Sasuke, you're all red." She brought a hand up to caress his cheek. "I think…you might have a fever." She bumped her forehead on to his to feel his temperature, only to cause Sasuke's heart to race even more. "Let me..." she bit her lip as she stared straight into his eyes, " let me take care of you."

Sasuke's eyes shot open at the sound of his alarm ringing beside his head before he pushed himself off his bed. His heart was pounding in his chest and his lungs were almost out of breath as if he had just run a marathon, but somehow he could not seem to remember anything for a moment.

He squinted his eyes at the bright light coming in through the window before he turned to look around him. He was still in that sleepy haze where he was confused about what had just happened, but once the fog cleared and he was fully awake, he came to a horrifying realization.

He swallowed the lump growing in his throat at the frustration of his realization before he decided to check something. With as much caution as he could, Sasuke reached for the sheets below and slowly pulled them off of him.

"THIS IS NOT HAPPENING."

Itachi snapped his head towards the sound of his brother yelling in his room before going back to sipping his coffee in the kitchen.

"Somebody finally woke up," Itachi said to himself as he continued to read the newspaper on the table.

...

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...

 _Tap tap tap…_

Sasuke sat in his usual spot in class while the teacher lectured on a new topic in math that Sasuke was sure he already knew. But that did not matter because at the moment his mind was preoccupied with something else.

 _Tap tap tap…_

No matter how much he tried to forget about it, his mind kept reminding him of what had happened this morning.

 _Tap Tap Tap –krr_

"You okay?" Someone whispered beside him.

Sasuke turned to the desk next to his to see Sakura looking at him with a concerned look. When her eyes went to his hand on the desk, he understood why she was concerned. Somehow, Sasuke had tapped his pencil too hard to the point that it broke at the tip.

He ignored her question and turned to stare at the teacher lecturing at the front of the classroom. He was in no mood to discuss something like this, especially with her.

In fact, he was trying hard to convince himself that this was nothing, and that he should completely forget about it and bury it deep somewhere so it would never come up again. However, that was something easier said than done, especially when he had a shift later that day where he would see someone that would constantly remind him of it.

When the time finally came for him to go to work, it was almost as if he was dragging his feet along the way. He felt nervous for the first time, and he did not know why. He was also glad that Sakura had decided not to tag along with him on his way to work, because at the moment he did not feel like he wanted to deal with her.

Reaching the bakery, and stalling for as long as he could, Sasuke took a deep breath before finally entering the shop. Upon his entrance, and without his notice, his eyes began scanning the place for a certain person, but it was not until a few minutes into his shift that he found out that Hinata was gone and would not be back after a few hours. It was not as if he was expecting something, yet he did feel slightly relieved, and a little disappointed which confused him.

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"Hi, is Sasu-"

"Yeah," Tenten cutoff Sakura before she could finish her question because she already knew what it was going to be. "Just go wait or something. He'll be out." She waved her hand at the frowning pink-haired girl who only gave her a look before turning to go sit at a table.

Sakura knew that the brunette who was Sasuke's coworker did not like her but she did not care, unless it turned out that she liked Sasuke too. Sakura had observed the girl a little, but so far she had not found anything that indicated her interest in Sasuke, so she decided not to be bothered by her.

The bell at the front door jingled as the door opened to show Hinata walk through it with another man Sakura had never seen before. He was holding a few boxes as he followed Hinata into the bakery.

"Ms. Hinata," Sakura greeted the woman as she walked up to her towards the counter.

"Oh hi," Hinata smiled at the girl who had become somewhat of a regular at her bakery. "Are you waiting for Sasuke?"

"Yeah, I just got here. Where are you coming from?" She asked as she looked at the boxes the other man, who she found out was named Chouji, brought in.

"We just came back from an even that we were catering," Hinata answered as she walked towards the back, leaving Sakura behind. "I have to take care of these in the back, so I'll talk to you another time," she smiled at the girl one last time before heading to the back.

"Bye," Sakura waved before going back to the table she was waiting at for Sasuke.

As she was about to sit down, she got a glimpse of Sasuke through the doorway talking to Hinata as he was about to make his way out.

"Sasuke, you must be leaving," Hinata said as she saw him walking out of the employee's room.

Without a second thought, Sasuke turned to look at the person who had spoken to him but once he got a glimpse of her, he remembered why he had been so hesitant to see her this entire day.

He cursed at himself, irritated at his reaction, before turning away, refusing to look at her. He did not want her to see his face as much as he was unable to see hers.

"Yeah," he responded curtly as he walked passed her without a single glance.

His reaction was daunting, reminding Hinata of the first day she met him, which was why she hesitated a bit before speaking again.

"Ah, well…thanks for your hard work today. I'll see you tomorrow." Hinata said as she smiled at the boy, hoping that he was feeling alright.

She decided to give him a pat on his back as he walked by before she headed to her work, leaving Sasuke behind to stand rooted in his spot. He stood there for a few seconds trying to calm his burning ears, all the while countlessly cursing himself.

It felt like hell to Sasuke since he could not control this reaction, and no matter how hard he tried to forget the incident in the morning, seeing Hinata once had flooded all the images back in his mind, making him feel weird and awkward around her. This was all new to him which bothered him even more since he had no idea what or why this was happening.

He walked out of the back and towards the entrance of the bakery, ready to leave without even looking for Sakura. He knew she was going to follow in any case so instead he pretended to look through his backpack as he kept his head down, trying to hide his face. He had waited in the back for a few minutes before he walked out to the front, but even then, he was cautious of the way he looked because somehow it was becoming difficult to keep up his mask of indifference.

"Sasuke, did you forget something?" Sakura asked when Sasuke kept looking through his bag.

"No," he replied in a softer tone, as he slung his backpack over his shoulder, and walked in front of her.

Sakura stared at his back as she walked behind him for a while before she decided to walk up to be beside him. When she got closer, she was able to see his face, and for the first time she felt unsettled by Sasuke.

The entire walk to the station was so unusually quiet that both teens could notice it. Sasuke preferred the silence so he did not speak, while Sakura, on the other hand, could not understand why she was feeling so anxious to talk to him all of a sudden.

Never did she feel so unsure of herself as she did now, with Sasuke of all people. She was always eager to be in his company, so then why was she feeling so lonely when he was right beside her.

Somehow, she kept thinking back to what she had seen at the bakery when she caught a glimpse of Sasuke with Hinata. She knew it was nothing, yet that whole exchange she witnessed had made her uneasy.

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 _As always, thank you to everyone that reviewed, favorited or followed this story._

 _Also, thank you to the readers for having patience as I try to stick to my schedule. It gets harder once school starts. I almost want to cry. But I won't._

 _This chapter was a little difficult to write so I'm not sure if I am completely satisfied with how it turned out. Be sure to give your feedback and review so I can know how much I fucked up, haha...I'm not kidding._


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm really keeping true to the slowburn I warned about earlier. Sorry, not sorry, jk.**

* * *

It was yet another quiet morning. Every night she slept with her window open in hopes that she would not wake up to a quiet room.

Her body felt heavy as she got herself out of bed and walked to the bathroom. The woman staring back at her in the mirror looked so drained that for a second Hinata felt bad for her before she realized that she was staring at herself.

The dark circles under her eyes and the sunken cheeks that emphasized her bones were getting worse with every day, but she always hid them with makeup. She was good at that, good at hiding things. It was not as if she was ashamed or embarrassed. She just did not want to make people worry. But deep down, she just did not want to deal with anyone's concern, be it fake or real.

Leaving the bathroom without being any more awake than she already was, she changed into her clothes for the day before heading towards the kitchen. Being an owner of a bakery and a chef herself, her breakfast was always very bland. Sometimes it was a plain toast, and on other days it was a bowl of oatmeal. No matter how much she liked baking in her shop, she rarely ever made anything fancy for herself. Every time she did, she soon would lose motivation to continue. To someone else, it would seem like she did not like her own cooking, but in reality she did not find it anymore impressive like she used.

After finishing what little of her breakfast she had, Hinata went back to her room to gather her things. She grabbed her phone and her purse while she looked for her keys. As she looked around, she came across her reflection once again in a mirror on her wall. This time the dark circles were gone and her face seemed less emaciated. Right then, her eyes caught sight of her keys on the table. She went to get them but she came back to the mirror after that.

Staring at her image for a few more seconds, she took a deep breath and smiled at herself. When she was satisfied, she clutched her keys and her purse before heading out the door of her apartment.

She double checked that her door was locked and that she had her phone and wallet before she walked out the complex and towards the train station.

This was just another regular start to a regular day for Hinata, but day by day, she was finding it harder and harder to leave that door, and to smile back at her reflection in the mirror.

...

* * *

...

"What did you think of the test in first period?" Sakura asked as she followed Sasuke to the train station after leaving the bakery.

Such was the routine for almost every other day where the pink haired girl walked with her crush from the bakery when he finished his shift.

"I bet it was easy for you," she giggled as she slapped his arm lightly. Sasuke stared at the arm she touched before turning his gaze at her, but she did not notice as she continued talking. "The multiple-choice questions were pretty easy, but the free response essays were kind of hard. I completely forgot to read one of the chapters, can you believe it?"

"Sakura," Sasuke began.

"And all the essay questions had to be from that chapter," she continued as she walked close, right beside him.

Sasuke frowned but did not say anything as he looked forward and continued walking while Sakura kept talking, making him sigh in frustration.

"Sakura," he said again, harsher than before causing Sakura to stop and look at him for the first time since she started talking. "Just…stop it," he finally said.

"W-what?" she asked in confusion, a sudden panic rising in her heart, but she hid it with a smile.

Sasuke clenched his jaw, trying to hide his annoyance. He knew he had to flat out say it to her, but he would have preferred if she just understood what he meant on her own.

"Don't come to pick me up from work," he said as they continued walking. "It's annoying. I'm not a child and no one asked you to, so just stop." He did not even turn to look at her because he already knew what kind of expression she was going to have. But he did not care anymore because it truly was annoying how she had suddenly started acting as if they had been close all their life.

"O-okay…" Sakura whispered as she bit her lip before turning her gaze to the ground.

They walked in silence for the rest of the way to the train station. Once they reached the platform and were about to part ways, Sakura grabbed the sleeve of his school's uniform to stop him.

She just stared at him, at a loss of words because she did not know why she did that, but the growing frown that was visible on his face as he waited for her, only made her more nervous.

"I'll…see you tomorrow," she finally said as she let go and quickly walked away.

He kept his frown, looking at the retreating form of Sakura before he left for his train too.

The next day at school, he went about his day as usual, but whenever he saw Sakura close by she would only smile or say 'hi' without going up to him and talking like she used to before. That was alright with Sasuke since this was how it used to be before she found out where he worked.

...

* * *

...

"Something's different," Tenten said as she leaned on the counter while Sasuke cleaned the floor in the bakery with a broom.

He just ignored her, focusing on getting all the dust from under the table before they had to close up the bakery.

"Hmm…" Tenten hummed with her chin in her hand and her elbow on the counter for support. "I wonder what it could be." She tapped her chin, and frowned at nothing in particular, pretending to be deep in thought.

"If you're so bored, then why don't you help me clean up," Sasuke commented offhandedly, a little annoyed at her.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "Because if I remember correctly, when Ms. Hinata asked if someone could clean the front, you immediately answered that you would do it all. But I mean if you can't then I guess I can help," Tenten shrugged as she grabbed another broom to help Sasuke clean up.

Sasuke gave her a glare when her back was towards him as she worked on the other side. He really hated when Tenten did that. It was not his fault when his boss asked that and his mouth just answered on its own before his mind could comprehend.

"You know," Tenten began as she put the broom by the counter and sat in one of the chairs. "I haven't seen someone dropping by lately."

Sasuke just continued cleaning, refusing to look at her because he knew what she was trying to do.

"Do you remember?" Tenten asked, looking towards Sasuke. "Pink hair. No?" she continued with a smile because she knew how hard he was trying to pretend he did not hear her. "Came to the bakery at 8:30pm every day, and always asked 'is Sasuke here?'" Tenten imitated Sakura by pitching her voice a little higher and tilting her head with a pout.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he finally responded to which Tenten just laughed.

"Oh man," she laughed, "she would know you were here but she still asked. I don't know why. And would it kill her to at least buy something once in a while. She always just sat at one of the tables, waiting like housewife." Tenten just laughed to herself while she sat at the table, her broom long forgotten. "Hey, did you guys break up?" she asked Sasuke.

"Breakup?" Sasuke's grip tightened on the broom in his hand as he glanced at Hinata who had just walked out from the back. "Did you break up with your boyfriend?" she asked Tenten with a gasp.

"No, no," Tenten waved at her boss. Sasuke was kind of intrigued at finding out that his coworker had a boyfriend. He was surprised she never mentioned it. "I was talking about him," she pointed at Sasuke.

Sasuke's hand started to feel sweaty as he saw Hinata's eyes turned towards him with a curious look in her eyes.

"I didn't know you were dating Sasuke," she said with a smile.

"I…I'm no-"

"Yeah, it was with that pink haired girl that always came at the end of his shift," Tenten cut him off.

"Oh, I remember her. Sakura, right?" she said.

"We aren't dating," he gave Tenten a glare.

"Well not anymore since she hasn't been coming," Tenten said as if it was obvious.

Hinata frowned as she tried to remember. It was true what Tenten said but she did not know it was because Sasuke and the girl had broken up.

"We were never dating," Sasuke almost yelled, his anger rising. Tenten was really annoying him today.

"Don't try to hide it. I bet Ms. Hinata already knew, right?"

"Huh?...No I didn't know they were dating, but that one time does make sense now…"

"What?" Tenten asked, her curiosity peaked.

"I already said we never dated," Sasuke repeated as he felt his ears starting to warm up, but they did not listen. It was weird having Hinata so invested in something about his life, but at the same time it made him nervous for some reason.

"Oh, she came over on a weekend one time when it was almost really late. She probably confessed then, right?" This felt like some juicy teenage gossip as if she was back in high school. It was obvious that Sasuke was getting flustered talking about this topic, but Hinata could not help it. It was kind of fun to tease him, especially when she got to see so many new expressions on his face.

"No way," Tenten said in excitement. "I always knew she would be the one who confessed first."

"Really?" Hinata asked.

The two were talking to each other in their own bubble, ignoring the other boy they were talking about who was still in the room.

"Yeah, Sasuke seems like the one who would get confessed to by girls all the time," Tenten said seriously, as if she was an expert at this subject. "I bet he's super popular, always rejecting girls left and right," she glanced at him. "You heartless bastard." Even though it had seemed lighthearted her voice turned serious on the last sentence as she began glaring at him.

"What's your problem?" Sasuke said loudly, his anger growing towards his coworker as he glared right back at her.

She was somewhat right about him being popular, but no one had confessed to him in person since middle school. He assumed that it was because they were all afraid of getting rejected, especially since he had gained a reputation of being callous in middle school when he was almost always pissed.

"Tenten," Hinata warned her lightly, seeing how it was upsetting Sasuke. It was going a bit far and she felt really bad for pushing it. "Let's finish cleaning up. It's getting late." She glanced towards Sasuke who was still glaring at Tenten. Feeling guilty for making him angry like that she went back to the kitchen leaving the two teenagers alone.

Sasuke went back to doing what he was doing before, ignoring the other girl completely. His palms were still sweaty but his heart had gone back to a normal rhythm.

Tenten quietly stared at Sasuke's back for a few minutes as he finished cleaning up. She frowned at a thought that came to her mind before she got up and headed towards where Hinata was.

A few minutes later, she came back out with all her stuff and went towards the front of the bakery.

"I already asked the boss, so I'm leaving a little early. See ya," she told Sasuke while he continued working. She went out the bakery leaving behind the sound of the bell on the front door as it began to get quieter and quieter.

Slowly realizing that there were only two people left in the bakery now, himself included, Sasuke uneasiness reappeared, making the silence more unnerving.

"Sasuke, are you done?" Hinata asked as she walked through the back door, almost making Sasuke jump.

"Yeah," he answered as he put away the brooms so he did not have to look at her.

"Okay, then you can head out."

"What about you?" He asked before he could stop himself. There was still a lot to do and he was still on the clock. Hesitantly, he turned to look at her only to find her biting her lip and wringing her hands as she looked between him and the floor nervously.

"I…" for some reason Sasuke's heart began pounding. Maybe it had to do with the fact that this scene looked oddly familiar to a confession he had received countless times before. "I-I'm sorry!" she finally said as she buried her face in her hands. "I'm so sorry Sasuke, we shouldn't have teased you like that," she continued and for a second Sasuke did not hear what she said as he reeled in this feeling of disappointment. "I know you're not heartless. You're very sweet. And it's your personal life. You have your reasons for breaking up and I didn't mean to pry –"

"Wait," he cut her off, his head still trying to wrap around the fact that he almost imagined a confession from his boss. How embarrassing. "I never dated Sakura," he argued.

"You don't have to explain anything to me Sasuke," she smiled, hoping to make him feel that he did not owe her any explanation.

Even though Sasuke knew she was only trying to make him feel better, the effect was opposite. He did not know why, but he felt the need to make it clear to her.

"No, you don't understand!" For the first time he raised his voice at her, feeling frustrated at her and himself. "I never dated her," he insisted again as if he was trying to make her understand.

"…Okay," Hinata said after a few seconds. She stared at the boy in front of her, finally looking in to his eyes since he did not turn his gaze away from her like he always did in the past. His eyes were the complete opposite of hers. Where hers were light and almost transparent, his were dark and absorbing like an abyss.

Relief swept over Sasuke as if he could breathe again when she finally answered. She finally believed him, but why was that so important to him. Sasuke knew he wanted her to be sure of that fact, but he did not know why it mattered.

Flinching at the sound of thunder ringing through the bakery broke the stare Sasuke had with Hinata causing her to rush to the window to look outside. The sky was pitch black, just like the eyes she had been looking at just a while ago, but soon again there was a flash of light before the sound that followed a lightning rang through the silence.

"Is it supposed to rain today?" Hinata asked as she looked to the sky.

"I don't think so," Sasuke frowned as he tried to pull out his phone to check the weather.

"I think you're wrong." Just then, water droplets began pouring down from the sky. It started slow and then it turned heavy as raindrops slid down the windows like waterfall all around the bakery.

"Shit," Sasuke cursed as he walked up to the window, standing right behind Hinata, looking at the heavy pour outside. How was he supposed to walk back home in this weather.

"This is bad," Hinata said, looking at the rain outside. "You can't go back like this." She turned to look at Sasuke but the proximity between their bodies almost made her jump.

Sasuke hadn't realized how close he had stood behind her when he went to look at the rain. Seeing her only inches away from him, his ears began to burn as he quickly took two steps back.

"Uh…" Hinata turned back to the window, trying to calm her blush. "I-I'll call you a cab," she said before she went to the back to grab her phone.

"…okay," Sasuke responded a little late as he stood for a few more seconds before looking around to find the broom he was using to clean the floor. It took him a few minutes to realize that he had already put it away.

What was wrong with him.

Looking at the changing weather outside, Sasuke sighed and began placing the chairs on each of the tables. Since he was stuck there for a little longer, he should finish his job, especially before Hinata came back.

"I called a taxi for you," Hinata spoke as she walked through the double doors from the kitchen, "but they said it'll take them a while," she sighed, "I guess the rain is affecting traffic right now." She walked up to the counter to stand behind it, looking at the only other person that was in the bakery with her.

"Hn…" Sasuke thought of what he had to do now that it was only him and Hinata left.

He pretended to keep himself busy with putting the chairs away, but the silence was agitating. It did not help that he could feel her eyes on him, making his breath more suffocating with every second.

"I think –"

"Are you –"

Both spoke at the same time cutting each other off before either one could finish what they wanted to say.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off," Hinata said immediately after, "what were you going to say?"

"Oh..." Sasuke swallowed the lump in his throat trying to bring the words out of his mouth again. "I think…I'll just walk home right now," he said as he placed the last chair on the table.

"What? It's raining outside," Hinata said in concern. "Just wait here. The taxi is on its way."

"No, it's okay. I should be going." He was having a hard time deciding where to look now that he did not have anything to occupy him. He decided to look out the window at the rain.

"Sasuke," his name on her lip made him want to plug his ears. He could already feel his ears getting warmer. "You can get sick if you walk outside now."

"I'll be fine. I don't get sick," he lied flatly, feeling stupid for it at the same time.

"Everyone gets sick, Sasuke." Hearing her chide him on his absurd statement made him want to smack his forehead. He knew it was not going to work. "Why don't you wait in the front at the counter...I'll be in the back. I still have things to do in the kitchen." She really did not have anything to do in the back but she felt that Sasuke would be more comfortable if she was not there.

Hearing her leave before he could even respond made Sasuke stare at the door feeling something he could not describe. He decided to listen to his boss and pulled out a chair by the counter to wait. He sat there quietly for a little while, but every minute felt painfully slow making him restless.

Leaving his seat, he went behind the counter to go to the back.

"Do you need any help…?" he asked hoping that she would have something for him to do. But seeing her seated in one the chairs by the pantry with her phone in her hand made him pause in his tracks.

"Huh…I, uh, already finished," Hinata said quickly as she put away her phone. She had just been sitting there, scrolling through her phone to pass the time. Hopefully, Sasuke would believe that.

"Oh…" Sasuke did not know what to do. He had never felt so awkward in his life. He could not just stand in the doorway but he did not want to go back to the front and sit there alone.

Just then, another sound of thunder rang through the bakery breaking the silence and making Sasuke flinch.

"Are you…" Hinata began but bit her lip, not knowing if she should continue, but the expectant look on his face made her speak again. "Are you afraid of lightning?"

Sasuke stood there so confused that he even frowned at her question. Even though it was happening outside, he did not know why she asked that.

"No…I don't think so," he added.

"Oh," she blushed seeing how confused he looked. She felt bad for assuming and tried to pass the embarrassment in silence by looking at the floor.

"Why did you ask?" Sasuke got curious, wanting to know what made her think that. He walked up to where she was sitting, his nervousness at being alone with her forgotten as he grabbed another chair to sit beside her.

It felt odd to have someone ask something about him, or even want to know something about him. He never talked about himself and no one ever tried to ask, except for whenever his fangirls would want to know superficial things.

"Oh," Hinata blushed again at his curiosity and his boldness to sit so close to her. He was always so reserved around her that it felt nice to see him so interested for a change. "Well…you always close your eyes whenever it happens."

"Really?" He never noticed now that she mentioned it.

"You didn't know?" she asked in amusement, a small smile growing on her lips as she turned towards him in her chair.

"No," he answered, as he tried not to look too much at her.

"Hmm…" she thought as she tried to figure out why Sasuke did what he did at the sound of thunder, as another one rang through the sky again. "You did it again!" She pointed when the sound was gone.

Sasuke realized what he was doing when he opened his eyes again to see her staring right at him with only a couple feet of distance between them.

"I…I guess I never realized." He mentally cursed when he felt his ears warm up again at how her eyes looked straight at him at such a close distance.

"Maybe you're not afraid," she frowned. "You don't seem like you would be afraid of something like that."

"I don't like the sound of it," he thought out loud, helping her come up with an answer. It felt so weird having her so in thought over something about him.

"That could be it," she nodded. "Here I thought you might have been scared of it," she laughed. "I even imagined you having a teddy bear or a blanket or something at home that you held whenever there was lightning." She laughed again not realizing what she had said, all the while Sasuke was losing control over his blush having it rise from his neck to his ears. "Ah, that would've been so cute!" she said excitedly before she saw how Sasuke was hiding half his face behind his hair while his hand covered the rest. "I-I meant l-like as a child it w-would have been c-cute." She looked away too, trying to hide her blush when she noticed Sasuke's red ears.

It stayed quiet as the two looked away from each other in the awkward silence. Hinata kept calling herself stupid in her mind for saying something like that out loud, while Sasuke on the other hand tried to think over something other than what she had said because it felt too embarrassing.

He thought over whether it was true that he did not like the sound of thunder. He had just said it to give her something, but why did he close his eyes whenever it happened.

Right then, Hinata's phone rang, indicating a text being received.

"It must be your taxi." She brought it out of her pocket to read the message, but when she looked at the screen, her body became rigid and her heart felt heavy.

"Is it the taxi?" Sasuke asked when she just stared at the screen without a response.

"O-oh…no," she responded before putting away her phone.

Sasuke did not say anything but he could notice how her demeanor had changed.

It was quiet again for a few minutes before her phone rang again. This time she picked it up but immediately put it away when it was not the taxi she had called earlier. Her phone rang again twice before she put it on silent, but Sasuke could see her get more and more bothered by it.

When it started vibrating with a call Hinata took it out to look at it as she bit her lip. Sasuke could see she was contemplating answering it.

"I'll be at the front," he muttered before getting up to leave.

Hinata stared at him leave through the door with a frown on her face. She knew he left so she could answer her phone, but did she want to.

Sasuke went back to the seat he had at the counter when he waited in the front. He remembered how Hinata's face looked when she saw her phone ring. He knew he should not pry since it was her personal life, but he was really curious. Who would make her have that kind of an expression.

He heard someone talking behind the door on the other side where Hinata was, but the rain beating on the glass windows made it harder for him to pick up anything. Only when her voice got louder at the end did he manage to get some of what she was saying, but at that point the conversation had ended.

"Sasuke, your taxi is five minutes away. I just got a text from them," Hinata walked out of the back door with a smile on her face but it looked way too forced to Sasuke. She was clutching her cellphone at her side while trying to keep her eyes to the floor. "Why don't you grab your things and just wait at the front, okay? I just have a few things to do in the b-back so you don't have to look for me when you leave." She quickly turned to go back without a single glance to the only other person in the bakery.

Sasuke sat in his seat without moving an inch since Hinata had left, thinking over what he should do. He kept convincing himself to ignore whatever had happened because it was obvious how Hinata was trying to hide something behind the smile. Yet, he felt helpless just sitting there.

Slowly, he got up from his chair and made his way to the employee's room. When he was done changing and had all his things, he made his way to the front but decided to go to the kitchen instead. He knew she would be there, and she was, but to his surprise, she was standing there writing something.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he slowly approached her.

"I thought of a new item we could try in the bakery," she answered without looking up from her notepad she wrote on. "I think people will like it."

"Oh…what is it?" He did not know why he was talking but he just did not like the silence.

"Cinnamon roll cake. We always have cinnamon rolls so I thought maybe we could make it a cake this time and I've alw—" the lead in her pencil broke as she pushed too hard on the notepad.

"…that sounds…delicious," Sasuke said after a few moments of silence.

"What…" she said as she turned to stare at him with a puzzled look.

"What?"

"You said it sounds delicious."

"Yeah." Sasuke did not know why she was so confused.

"But…you hate sweet things." Her declaration of that fact brought forth the memory of when Itachi kept saying the same thing when Sasuke had told him he had gotten a job at the bakery.

"I don't _hate_ it. It's just a preference," he simply stated, a little irritated at people making a big deal out of it.

His straight face response as if he was dodging some accusation made Hinata snicker. She brought her hand up to hide her giggles but she could not control them leaving her almost in tears from how much she was laughing.

Sasuke was surprised at her laughing but he felt better having her laugh than anything else. He found himself staring at her when she finally finished and looked at him with a smile.

"Maybe I'll make something of your preference...especially for you," she said with a smile as the blush from her laughs was still bright on her face.

"Whatever." Sasuke looked away to keep himself from staring. He felt like she was teasing him but for some reason he did not mind.

Hinata chuckeld again at Sasuke's response before her phone rang with a text.

"Oh, your taxi is outside," she said once she read the message.

"Hn," Sasuke did not say much else as he walked away with Hinata right behind him. Before he left from the front, he stopped to look at her one more time. "I'll…see you tomorrow." His voice was even without any hesitation, but those few words seemed like the hardest thing to say to her.

"Yeah," Hinata said with a smile.

"Wait, how are you getting back?" Sasuke just realized as he thought of how Hinata was going to get home.

"I called a taxi for myself too," she lied. "It'll be here soon." She smiled at him as he believed her answer and went out the shop.

He glanced at her one more time before getting in the taxi. She waved at him from the window as he finally climbed in the car and drove off.

After she had been completely alone for a few minutes, Hinata pulled out her phone, feeling disheartened as she looked at it. There was a text on it that she had just received. It was from the same person as earlier, telling her they were on their way to pick her up.

That heavy feeling from this morning had returned to keep her rooted to her spot. Why was it that this feeling was getting worse each day. Yet, there were always some days that made her heart feel lighter even just for a moment.

Days like today were one of them. But it was all for nothing since the feeling was back and on its way to her.

The next day, Hinata started her day the same way she had been for so long, yet it felt like there was an extra weight on her body that made moving around harder throughout the day.

"Where do you want me to put this?" Hinata came out of her thoughts to look at the person who had asked her the question.

"Here is fine," she answered as she went back to sifting through the items she was looking at earlier.

Sasuke placed the box where she had asked him to and went back to grab more things. Seeing him work at her bakery every day had made him like a constant in her life. Even when the other workers took spring break off, Sasuke had stayed and taken extra hours to make up for the other people that were gone. Hinata always found it odd because she always thought that a boy like Sasuke would be popular in school, yet he spent most of his free time at this part time job like a loner without any friends. She did not what was worse, him not having friends, or him pushing away his friends. But in the end, there was something about him that made her understand why he was the way he was, always distant or indifferent. However, the few times she had seen anything but that from him, she was glad.

"Sasuke," she said, grabbing his attention when he walked in with another box. At the moment, they were the only people working in the pantry so Hinata thought it would be the best time to ask him. "Are you free this weekend?"

"I think so," he answered as he turned to obstruct her view of his face with the box he was holding while he pretended to find a place to put it.

"There is a charity event on Saturday outside of Konoha and Chouji can't make it that day so I was wondering if you could come." She turned to look at him as he put the box on the floor and glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. "I need someone strong to carry all the boxes of food with me." She could not help but smile when she noticed the red tint on his ears as he shuffled the boxes a little before standing up.

"Sure." Without a single glance towards her, he went back outside to grab the other boxes leaving Hinata to muffle a giggle as he walked away.

She knew he was always seemed indifferent, but he was not unkind which was why she always found his responses cute.

On the day of the event on Saturday, Sasuke came to find out that Hinata had closed the bakery because she was going to be gone for most of the day, and that they had to drive to the event.

"It isn't mine," Hinata said when she saw Sasuke staring at the car. "I rented it for today so we have to be careful not to spill the food inside."

"I didn't know you had your license."

"I got it when I was in college. I don't usually drive but it helps sometimes when I have to go somewhere far, like today."

Hinata went inside the bakery to get some things while Sasuke went back to placing the boxes in the car. It should have been obvious to him that it was just going to be Hinata and him today when she said that Chouji could not make it. He did not know how to feel about being alone in the car with her while they drove to the event.

"Ready to go?" Hinata asked when they were done loading the car. She locked the bakery behind her and walked up to the parked car in front of it to take her spot in the driver's seat.

"Yeah," Sasuke answered, not knowing what to expect from today.

It turned out that Hinata had another person she had to pick up before they drove to the event that day. Another woman, who seemed to know Hinata from somewhere else, needed a ride to the event so she was in the car with them, making it not just Hinata and Sasuke alone. He did not know whether he felt relieved or sad about this prospect but either way he just stayed quiet throughout most of the drive as he sat in the back.

"What year are you?" the woman, who Sasuke found out to be Hana, asked as she turned in her seat in the front beside Hinata to look at him.

"Third," he responded as he kept his gaze at the moving objects outside the window.

"Ooh, so you must be graduating soon. Are you excited?"

"Hn."

Hinata looked through the rearview mirror to see Sasuke staring out the window. He reminded her of a pouting child which almost made her giggle. Maybe he was upset he had to come out on a weekend like this.

Hana went back to talking to Hinata while Sasuke stayed in the back, brooding over something he could not figure out.

When they got to the event, they had to carry each of the boxes to their stall to set up and give out food. The rest of the event went on like that where Sasuke and Hinata were busy while Hana visited them often.

When it was time for Sasuke's break, he decided to walk around the event. He could see that there were a lot of rich people based on the type of clothes they were wearing, and more often than not, he found some of the women, even the older ones, looking at him and trying to talk to him. Annoyed by the amount of people who tried to talk to him, he went back to their stall and waited out the rest of his break there.

"Back so soon." Hana stood by the stall as Hinata worked on cleaning their table.

"Hn," Sasuke was not in the mood to talk to any more people so he just went and sat in the back of their stall to eat the lunch he had brought from home. It was nothing more than a small sandwich.

"Here, I made some egg salad sandwiches if you want some." Hinata placed a Tupperware box filled with almost a half dozen sandwiches on the table beside him.

"Oh, don't mind if I do," Hana said as she went to grab some while Hinata smiled and went back to mending the stall.

Sasuke looked over at the box and contemplated on taking one before finally picking one of the sandwiches and taking a bite. Having worked at the bakery for a while now, he never tried any one of the things Hinata made there. But having something made by her, especially one that was not for selling, made it different.

"He looks too much," Hana said to herself after some time had passed between them in silence.

Sasuke had not even realized that she had been standing right next to him, but Hana had noticed him and what he was doing. He did not know it, but his eyes kept wandering to someone in particular and Hana paid attention to that.

"Let me help you," Sasuke said when he saw Hinata struggling with carrying multiple items.

"No, I got it. You're still on break," she tried to say but he did not care as he took the boxes from her.

"I'm here to help you, aren't I?" He placed the boxes away before he looked at Hinata who was still trying to get him back to his break. "What happened to your arm?" He said when he saw a bruise hiding under one of her sleeves. A sudden panic rising in him when he realized how painful it looked.

"Oh, this?" she pointed at it but still kept it hidden. "Funny story," she laughed awkwardly, "I was trying to balance some of the boxes earlier but I forgot to see ahead so I bumped into the car door. Haha." She blushed, trying to hide her embarrassment behind her awkward laugh, but it did not work.

"I'm helping you," Sasuke said without any room for argument knowing that she would be even more clumsy on her own.

"But your break." He just ignored her and went back to bringing the boxes.

"He's funny," Hana said to Hinata when Sasuke had gone to the car.

"You think so?" Hinata asked as she turned to her friend who still stood in the same spot as earlier.

"And a little cute," she winked at Hinata who just laughed with a small blush on her cheeks when she realized the last time she had called him cute out loud.

Soon after, the event was almost over leaving Hinata and Sasuke to pack up. Hana joined to help them in the end as she was still riding back to Konoha with them. Their drive back didn't go any different than before but this time, Sasuke's eyes still wandered to the driver's seat, while Hana was the only one to notice.

"Thank you so much for helping me today Sasuke." Hinata held his hand and smiled when they were finally done with unloading everything from the car. They were outside the bakery ready to part ways, but Hinata had been really grateful for him being there today.

"Yeah…you're welcome." He tried to focus on a spot on the ground as she held his hand to thank him. He could feel his ears getting hotter but her soft hands made him feel a different kind of way inside.

"Hey Hina, I'm gonna head out. Thanks for the ride!" Hana yelled as she walked away.

"Bye Hana." Letting go of his hand, Hinata waved at her friend while Sasuke just stared at his hand thinking about the nickname Hana had used for Hinata. Hina. "Thank you again for coming, Sasuke. I'll see you tomorrow." She waved at him before getting in the car and driving away to return the rental, leaving him behind to stand in his spot.

Finally, after she was gone with the car nowhere to be seen, Sasuke decided to move. He went on his way to the train station to head home. Even though he had worked the same number of hours as he did in the bakery on a weekend, his body felt more tired than usual.

"Hey," Hana almost jumped at him out of nowhere, hoping to get a reaction.

With nothing more than a glare and a "Tch," Sasuke ignored her and went on his way.

"Don't be so rude," she said as she walked up to him, moving right beside him. "And here I was trying to give you some advice."

"Hn." He barely gave her any thought as he walked to the station, but having her right beside him was slightly irritating.

"What? Am I bothering you?" she asked innocently, but Sasuke knew she was only pretending. "Fine, I'll leave," she said once they reached the station. "But know this, you're much easier to read than you think."

"Hn," Sasuke responded without giving much thought or care to what she was saying.

"You might not care now, but trust me, it'll come back...especially if Hinata's involved," she whispered at the end causing Sasuke to be curious once he heard Hinata's name.

"What do you mean?" he asked

"All I'm saying is that it's much easier to fall and much harder to get back up. But the hardest is to keep falling when you've done it once."

Without anything else, Hana parted ways with Sasuke leaving him confused and a little irritated at her. He could not figure out what anything she said meant.

On the other side, as Hana walked away, she hoped that the boy had understood enough to heed her warning. If only he was a few years older, then he could have been able to help Hinata.

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 _As always, thank you to everyone who commented on, favorited and followed my story. Also thank you for having the patience to bear with my uploads._

 _It's been almost a month so I decided to make this chapter longer. Essentially, it is like two chapters combined in one._

 _And again, I would like to ask you to give your feedback and reviews. They were really helpful the last time. Thank you._

 _Also, I'm debating whether to get a beta. It makes it easier to have someone proofread what I write because I do make typos and errors, but I also wanted someone that I could get feedback from and help me keep my writing in character before I post a chapter. If you are interested, PM me._


	7. Chapter 7

**We're back to a short chapter. I apologize very much. I swear I am trying to be more consistent this time so please bear with me.**

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It was the start of a new season where people often began a new chapter in their lives. One was such for high school students, something important, for them to decide what they wanted to do after graduation.

It was an always assumed that Sasuke would go to college and pursue something that would eventually lead him to the family business, where his brother, his father and generations of Uchihas before him had gone to live out the rest of their lives. Since he never held any conviction for something he wanted on his own, Sasuke had relented to follow the path that was the most obvious one. Even though he did not care much for it, this was one thing he truly felt envious about with the one person who he thought could never out do him.

Naruto was always in last where Sasuke was always first in everything they did from school to sports to anything else he could think of. It was years and years of hard work for Naruto that made him finally reach a level that even Sasuke got to notice, but in the end, in the back of his mind, Sasuke always felt he could do better that Naruto in anything.

Yet, when it came to the future, Sasuke could not help but let the envy sting his heart when the realization finally set him that he could not set his own path, because he did not know which path he wanted. In the end, he was just following the same path that he had once hated so much for taking his father, and now his brother so far away from their family. He had somehow become complacent in how his future turned out.

"What are you thinking about?"

Sasuke's eyes came back to focus as he realized he had been in a daze, stuck in his thoughts while still at work. It was a Friday evening, and he was the last one left on shift, beside Hinata, taking up the counter. Beside him stood his boss who had just noticed the small frown on his face, which prompted her to ask her question.

"Nothing," Sasuke responded without much thought.

"You were staring at the register for a while," Hinata quipped, not buying his answer.

"Hn…really?" Sasuke tried to play it off by deciding to put away some of the items on display in the glass counter since it was close to closing time. It was still jarring to be alone with her but it had gotten easier talking to her, especially since the event they went together last weekend.

Watching Sasuke turn away from her to avoid the topic made her drop her shoulders a little and lean by the counter, blowing away her bangs to let out her slight frustration with the boy. He had gotten better at talking with her because now she was able to get a little more than a few words of responses from him, and he was not always looking away from her. But it was like taking baby steps with him causing Hinata to sometimes just give up hope of ever having a proper conversation with him.

Hearing her sigh as she straightened herself before she went back to the kitchen prompted something in Sasuke, and without his control, he said out the first thing that came to mind.

"What made you decide to own a bakery?"

His sudden question caught her by surprise causing her to stop and stare at him. That was a rather straightforward question that she had heard from Sasuke for the first time.

At her lack of response and the prolonged stare that he held for a few seconds, Sasuke felt a little unsettled, causing him to continue.

"I was just thinking…about my future and what I want to do. You don't have to answer." Feeling a little stupid for suddenly bursting like that, he went back to sorting through the things he was working with earlier, hoping that she would just ignore this and go away.

"Future…that's a tough one," Hinata finally spoke as she leaned back on the counter with her hands folded in front of her.

Sasuke perked up at the sound of her voice, unknowingly feeling intrigued and excited at the prospect of finding a little more about her at least.

"But you shouldn't have to worry so much about it. You're still young and you have time," she smiled.

"I'm graduating in a few months. I don't think I have as much time as you think," he said, still keeping himself busy with his work while listening to her.

"Graduating? I thought you had another year left." Sasuke almost dropped the tray he was holding in his hand at Hinata's response.

"No," he said flatly with a glare, "this is my last year."

"O-oh," she bit her lip, "I thought you were a second year." She blushed as his eyes narrowed, still glaring at her. "B-but even so," she continued, looking away from him in embarrassment as she realized she had forgotten what year he was in high school when he had said it just last week to Hana when they drove to the event. "You shouldn't worry. I'm sure you have lots of options."

When Sasuke did not say anything, Hinata turned to see him with the same frown he had earlier as he stared at the ground.

"Do you know what you want to do?" she asked to which he looked up, and hesitated before he shook his head. "Um…okay," she was never really good at dealing with these kinds of things, especially when it came to giving advice, so she did not know what to say, but she decided to continue anyway. "Well, you can always figure that out." She tried to smile even though she knew it probably looked forced because she felt too on the spot when Sasuke just stared at her so intently taking everything that came out of her mouth seriously. "W-why don't we close up early today?"

"But we still have 30 minutes left," he frowned in confusion.

"Ah, it'll be okay," she waved her hand at him, "nobody is here and no one usually comes this late anyway."

"Hn."

Sasuke did not say anything else as Hinata went to the back leaving him alone in the front by the counter. For the next fifteen minutes, they went on to clean up the bakery. Since today had not been such a busy day, it was fairly fast to clean up, so when they stood out at the front of the bakery to lock it up, not much time had passed from the conversation they were having before.

Not having anything else to say, Sasuke just nodded to her before he went on his way.

"Wait!" she yelled before he could go any further.

He stopped in his tracks, half surprised by her request, and half anticipating what she wanted to say.

"Um…do you…like ramen?" She asked before immediately turning her head to the ground with her eyes growing in surprise of herself for asking something as ridiculous as such.

"What?" he asked, not expecting that to come out of her mouth as he immediately remembered a certain blond head.

"W-well, you asked why I decided to open a bakery, so...I was thinking...I could answer that over a bowl of...ramen...?" When the frown did not leave his face she continued blurting out whatever she could think of. "Just think of it as a way for me to repay you for helping me on the event last weekend. N-nothing else, I swear!" She blushed a little at how long he had just been staring at her like she was spewing nonsense.

On the other hand, Sasuke was having a hard time trying to piece together what she had just said. When it finally clicked that she had asked him to eat ramen with her, he had to really try hard to keep himself from looking like an idiot. Even if he agreed to go, to which he was not opposed to, it would not be anywhere near what his mind was assuming it to be.

"I don't really prefer ramen," he responded as he averted his gaze to the street, feeling his ears warm up while Hinata felt embarrassed for asking. "…But I don't mind," he said quietly just so she could hear and no one else, even though they were alone on the street.

"O-okay...?" she said as her eyes grew in disbelief. "Okay," she repeated with a smile this time, which caused Sasuke's ears to warm up even more as he looked at her smile from the corner of his eyes. "I know a really good ramen place. Let's go there."

Forgetting any embarrassment or nervousness she held just a moment ago, Hinata grabbed Sasuke's arm at the elbow and pulled him with her as she led the way. However, her bold actions, even if she had not realized them yet in her excitedness, caused Sasuke's heart to beat rapidly. He could feel his palms sweat as he gulped the harsh words that were trying to escape. His first reaction had been to jerk his arm away with a few, less than harsh words to discourage her, but he had held them back as he knew she was not one his fangirls. Her intent was not the same, even if he might not mind the idea of it. He shook that thought away as soon as it came to his head, not wanting it to grow into something else.

Sooner than he had realized, Hinata had let go of his arm and was walking right beside him with a smile on her face as they made their way to the ramen shop.

"You're quite excited," he commented out loud without his intent causing him to bite his cheek for letting it slip.

"Does it show that much?" she laughed as she brought a hand to her cheek. "It's been a while since I went there so I guess I got carried away."

She giggled to herself as if she had remembered something, causing Sasuke to yet again feel his ears warm up as he averted his gaze away from her with a scowl. He really needed to learn to control this before it got out of hand. Especially now that they were going on a date. Sasuke almost choked as that thought crossed his mind, before he tried to shake it away. Seeing Hinata's look of concern, he faked a cough small cough behind his hand before she could ask anything, as they continued their walk to the shop.

Sasuke could already feel tonight was going to be rough on him throughout this entire date, not a date, with Hinata at the ramen shop.

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 _As always, thank you to everyone who commented on, favorited and followed my story._

 _I wanted to write some more with the interactions between Sasuke and Hinata, making it sweet and enjoyable...like a calm before the storm...haha jk, maybe._

 _Moving on,_ _I really enjoyed reading your feedbacks and reviews. They are one of the main reasons why I like writing stories. Thank you so much to all of you. I would like to shout out some of the reviewers I have seen several times in the reviews section:_ ** _LittleRock17,_** ** _emva9x, Break Blade, LB Cat, onlyluna, Haruka2007, DAngel7, DreamsOfTheDamn, Koen D, Gangnam Style X3, Cat Beats, Bexbluedragon76, kayna96, and the guest reviewers_** _. I'm sorry if I missed some names, but I will get you another time. Just know that I appreciate everyone who takes the time write something, even something small in reviews. Thank you._

 _Once again, PM me if you are interested in being a Beta Reader for this story. I would like having a few as it can make it easier with writing and characterizations. So feel free to let me know._

 _I hope you enjoy this and have a good day. Don't forget to leave your thoughts in the reviews as well._


	8. Chapter 8

**Longer chapter. Slower burn. Sorrynotsorrybutreallysorry.**

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It was a small place, cramped with people and small tables. Somehow, they were able to get a table without much wait, but after ordering their food, there was something creeping up that Sasuke dreaded on his way to this place with Hinata. The awkward silence. What was he supposed to say when he could barely look at her. The dim lighting in the restaurant and the crowded noise made it intimate when he looked to her, knowing that in this place filled with strangers, they were the only ones who knew each other.

"I hope you like their miso ramen. I think it's the best in Konoha," she said with a smile.

Sasuke could not help but want to stare at her and her excitement. He felt a sudden urge to mirror her smile at the realization that she was sharing something she really enjoyed, with him. He knew he should not let it go any further, but the feeling was so out of his hand now that he could not control what he felt, especially when half the time he had no idea what was going on with himself.

In his thoughts he had not realized how long he had been staring at her until she blushed as she looked back at the menu. Clearing his throat as he looked away to the side, he cursed himself in his head like a personal mantra as he felt his ears warm up again.

"So, you're thinking about your future?" she asked after a few seconds had gone by.

"…Just up to after graduation." Suddenly, he was reluctant to talk to her about this.

"Graduation," she said as she thought about her past, "It seems like such a simple thing to graduate from high school. Everyone expects you to do it and then move on to college or get a job."

"But that's how it is for everyone." He wanted to talk to her more but the topic made him uncomfortable for some reason. It felt that talking about something like this really showed his age and how young he still was.

"Sure, for a lot of people this is a reality. But do you think anyone is ready for it?"

He had not realized that she had asked him a question until she stayed quiet and looked at him expectantly causing him to want to smack his forehead before shaking his head no in answer.

"I don't think anyone can ever be fully prepared for what they will do when they leave school…People who seem like they know everything…even they are struggling with something, but you just can't see it sometimes."

Sasuke took in everything she said and carefully thought about her words. He knew that a part of her could be saying something just to make him feel better, but even those words held weight for him.

The last sentence she said made him picture all the people he thought already knew what they wanted to do. Sakura wanted to be a doctor from such a young age that he could not even remember when she said it first. Naruto, on the other hand, always had a passion to help others so it felt right for him to go into something related to public service even if he did not know what exactly yet.

"How can they be struggling if they already know what they want?" he asked as he thought about the two people he grew up with.

"Sometimes knowing isn't enough." She looked away from his eager eyes, seeing him so interested in something for the first time. "Some people struggle with obstacles that get in their way. Some people might not even be able to afford it. And some aren't even capable of doing what they want."

It was surprising hearing her talk like that as she refused to look up from the glass in front of her. He knew what she said was true to some extent, yet this cynical part of her felt so out of place with her usual self. Even her face looked void of emotions as she twisted a piece off the corner of a napkin on the table.

"What are you saying?" She looked up to see him frowning at her as she realized she had just spaced out.

"O-oh…" she felt a little embarrassed for saying something like that when she should be helping him. "Well, I guess what I am trying to say is that you shouldn't have to worry if you don't know what you want right now. Everyone has been where you are right now at some point in their life. And soon you'll be at a point where you'll be facing new challenges when you decide on a path. So, don't rush yourself, or else you'll end up with something you hate." Seeing how seriously he was taking her words made her giggle. "Don't worry too much, okay?" She got up from her chair. "the key to finding what you want is to doing things instead of just thinking over them. You'll never know what you'll come across until you try to look for it." She ruffled his hair as she walked beside his chair. "I have to make call so I'll be back in a minute." She pointed to the cellphone in her hand before leaving Sasuke alone at the table.

After she had left, he let out a deep breath while looking down at the table feeling his heart beat quite fast. He could feel his ears warm up as he brought a hand up to pull on his bangs in front of his face. Why did she make him act so stupid sometimes.

The rest of the dinner went much more smoothly than Sasuke had anticipated. After she came back from her call, their food had been served so they spent most of their time eating. For the most part, it was Hinata talking as she talked about her bakery in Konoha and how she started it.

The story was really simple, as if he could expect anything grand from it. She had decided to open a bakery after she graduated from culinary school, but she did not have the money so she had to work as an apprentice under a chef until she saved enough money to open her own place, with a loan to cover the rest of the expense.

In between her story, she kept asking Sasuke about his school and anything else to get him to talk. He usually got annoyed when people kept asking him stuff about himself, but right now, he was not disinclined to answer her questions. In fact, deep down, he felt a little content to have her be curious to know more about him.

They had finished their dinner, and split the check, even though a part of Sasuke wanted to pay for it all even if he could not afford it. Now as they walked back on the street ready to part, Sasuke felt as if time had sped up in the past hour. He knew there was nothing left for either of them to still linger any longer, and so when Hinata said her goodbye and went in the opposite direction, he just stood there watching her leave until she was out of his sight. He stayed there for a few more seconds, walking slowly in circles until he decided it was time for him to go too. It was weird because for the first time he was not looking forward to the train ride alone to his empty house where he was sure no one was waiting for him. Maybe it was the fact that he had been eating dinner with Hinata in such a crowded place, talking throughout the entire time, but it felt different having to going back even if nothing had changed on the outside.

As he made his way back to his house, he thought about all the things they had talked about. If someone was to ask him how his food was, he would honestly say that he did not know, because the only thing he remembered was the way she spoke. It was obvious she enjoyed working in her bakery, but hearing her talk about it made it even more special.

Even if she said it was a simple story and her struggle to get to where she was now did not stand out, just listening to her talk about it made Sasuke realize something. He was living in a world that was completely different than what she was living in, and he could not completely understand what she had gone through because he was still too young. This feeling of misery that followed this realization was something he understood for the first time because this time he knew how far apart they were from each other.

…

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…

"Sakura!" The girl heard her name being yelled from the end of the hall as she was walking to her locker after school.

"What is it Naruto?" she asked in her usual irritated tone that she saved just for the blonde.

"Sakura, Sakura," Naruto said with a goofy smile on his face as he almost ran to catch up to her. "How are you? Good? Me too," he said in one breath when he finally reached her. "Long time, eh? What're you up to? Haven't seen in a while—"

"Naruto, what is it?" she said with a glare as she was getting annoyed by his one-sided banter. He was always loud and talkative, but he would get like this when something was up with him.

"Oh my god, Sakura," he whispered after taking a deep breath. "You are not going to believe this," he whispered again, leaning closer to her.

"Just spit it out already, you idiot," she mockingly shoved him to make some distance as they walked out the school.

"So, hear me out…"

"Yeah," she rolled her eyes knowing he wanted her to show she was listening.

"Ok, you know how Sasuke's always been ditching and ignoring us whenever we call him to hangout?"

Sakura knew what he was talking about but she bit the inside of her cheek as she realized that Naruto probably did not know that the real reason why he was refusing their invites was because of his job, and she was not about to tell him that. So, knowing Naruto was already on wrong track, she just stayed quiet and listened to what he came up with.

"You won't believe this, but I think I know why that bastard's been ignoring us lately."

"Why?" she was just amusing him at this point.

Naruto looked behind him before leaning closer to Sakura's face and holding his hand around lips, as if to tell a secret.

"He got himself a girlfriend," he whispered.

A mischievous smile broke across his face as he leaned back shaking his head while Sakura stood frozen in her spot.

"That sly bastard," Naruto laughed. "He could've at least told us," he pouted, feigning hurt, but all of that fell on deaf ears for Sakura as her eyes grew wider and her lungs felt out of air.

"What?" she finally spoke.

"I said he could've at least told us." Naruto repeated only to have her shake her head.

"No, you idiot. What did you say before that?"

"…That sly bastard…?" Naruto said with a puzzled look.

Sakura was sure that sometimes the blonde just liked pretending because no one could be this much of an idiot without trying.

"No…before that," she said with a strained patience.

"Oh! I said that he got himself a girlfriend!" he said once again with a grin on his face as if he just won the lottery.

"H-how do you know?" Sakura tried hiding her feeling of fear and shock behind a mask of curiosity as if she was just asking about a friend.

It was true that she liked Sasuke, but in Naruto's eyes her feelings were just of a childish crush that died in middle school. He did not know, or maybe pretended to not know, how much her feelings had grown over the years.

She could not bear having to hide how she felt, but she had to in order to stay close to Sasuke. That was what made her different because she was not just another girl that wanted to fall in love with an image of him. Sakura knew him and she wanted her feelings to be returned, but she was content with just being close to him. Yet it did not make her feel any better knowing that there might be someone else that has a place in his heart.

"I just do," Naruto said with a wink. "But if you want to know the details," he signaled her to come closer with his hand as he began whispering. Sakura rolled her eyes but still complied as she brought her ear closer. She felt like as middle schooler, gossiping into each other's ears. "Last night, I saw him have a date with a woman at a Ramen restaurant," he whispered. "Can you believe it!" he said in his normal voice once he pulled back.

Sakura kept her eyes to the ground as she thought about Sasuke while Naruto just talked beside her. If what Naruto had seen was in fact real, then it was only logical to conclude that Sasuke was on a date, but knowing what Sakura knew about him, it was difficult to believe that was the case. She knew that Sasuke had been busy with his part-time job recently, not a girlfriend, but Naruto did not know that, and if that was the case then it was likely that the woman was not his girlfriend.

"Where was this restaurant?" she asked, interrupting Naruto from essentially talking to himself.

"Oh… I think it was on 5th Street...?" Naruto thought for a second before confirming, "yeah, it was the one on 5th Street, just a few blocks after the light by the train station."

That was on the same street where Sasuke worked.

"What time was it when you saw him?" Sakura asked as she figured out.

"Umm, 8:30 in the evening, somewhere around that time," he answered without a second hesitation thinking that Sakura was just intrigued by this fact just as much as he was. Knowing Sasuke, and how secretive he was, it was not a surprise that he was hiding something, but Naruto had never imagined it to be a girlfriend.

"I see…" Sakura already had a feeling of what Naruto had actually seeing last night before he even answered her question. She had an idea on who the person might have been with Sasuke at the restaurant, but decided to keep that to herself since she would have to tell him about his workplace in the process. Thinking of the only possibility for the person that Naruto mistook as Sasuke's girlfriend, Sakura felt a pang in her chest as she remembered a scene that played between the boss and her employee in the bakery. She tried forgetting about it, but it was hard to get rid of that look on Sasuke's face from her mind, when she had imagined him giving that exact same look to her countless times.

...

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...

Days were getting longer as Spring was finally beginning to bloom with bright colors outside, but for Sasuke even those colors could not lift his dull mood that had been following him for some time. He did not know why but ever since the day he had dinner with Hinata, he had been feeling a weight on his chest that had been growing ever so slightly as time went on. He was not sure whether it was the realization that he was younger than Hinata or whether that when he graduated he would eventually be leaving this place, but there was this acknowledgment that the two of them had a distance between them that could not be easily covered with something simple.

It was clear from the beginning, the differences between them. She was the owner while he was just a part time worker. He would only look at her like that in the beginning, but slowly and gradually the place had become an escape for him to avoid the empty house he had come to loathe so much now. Maybe by extension, she had become something of the same for him. How lonely did he have to be to start seeing his workplace as an escape, and a near stranger as a familiar. She was basically a stranger to him, having never seen her outside his workplace. The dinner had been the first time where he had been with her outside the context of work.

If he was being honest, he liked the dinner they had together even if it was ramen. Maybe it was because he did not have to eat at home alone or he really enjoyed her company, it did not matter. What did matter in the end was that he realized he knew almost next to nothing about her, and the fact that there was a kind of a barrier between them made it harder to know more.

"You know, staring at the window isn't going to make time go by any faster." Tenten stood behind Sasuke as she broke his concentration on whatever he was focused on when she spoke.

"Hn," Sasuke ignored her attempt at talking as he decided to leave his spot by the counter and essentially move away from her. He still was not going to talk to her especially after the last time they spoke. She had gotten mad at him for something without any reason and he did not care to deal with someone like that.

"Hey," she said before he could go any further, blocking his way out of the counter. "Look…" she began as Sasuke just stood with his arms crossed and a lazy look in his eyes as if she was a nuisance. In truth, he was annoyed by her. "I…I'm sorry about last time. I don't know why," she looked down as she brought up her hand and clenched it in a fist, "I just get angry sometimes…And it wasn't your fault!" she quickly added. "There were just a lot of things going on and I got out of line by taking it out on you. Sorry." She gave him a defeated smile hoping he would understand as she really felt bad for the other day where she put him on the spot and said some mean things about him.

Moving out of his way, Tenten gave him a nod before heading to the back of the bakery. Sasuke watched her leave before he let out a breath from his nose. He could care less about any of the things she said about him, but it was the fact that a certain person was there as well was what made him annoyed. He just did not want any misunderstandings between him and his boss about Sakura, that was all and nothing else.

Thinking of Hinata, Sasuke realized that he still had not seen her since he started his shift. There were times when she had been out and would show up later after his shift had started, but she had never been this late. He decided to ask one of his coworkers but when he realized that it was only him and Tenten in the bakery, he almost decided not to.

Barely trying to hide the look of annoyance on his face, Sasuke went to the back where Tenten was to ask.

"Where's Hinata?" Only saying the bare minimum to her before waiting for a response, he was getting more and more annoyed by her as she was taking time trying to figure out that Sasuke had just spoken to her.

"Uh…She's not here today." A little confused by the fact that he had decided to forgive her so quickly, or maybe he did not.

"Where is she?" Sasuke asked as Tenten tried to think about where the owner of the bakery had said she was going to.

Before she could remember, Tenten realized something as her eyes grew a little wider.

"You just called her by her first name," she said in disbelief as she stared at Sasuke who only frowned, not understanding what she meant.

"Who?"

"The boss! I have never heard you call her by her name, and now you're using her first name."

"So? I asked you a question." Sasuke gave her a glare as he waited for her to answer, all the while thinking of what Tenten had just said.

"Oh, I think she said she had to visit family for something. But she'll be back in a few days." Tenten still stared at him for a few seconds as she thought of something while Sasuke decided to take what she said and leave before she spoke again.

"Hn," Sasuke went to the front leaving Tenten behind as she went back to whatever she was doing earlier.

Sasuke stayed by the counter in the front, keeping things organized for the rest of his shift. It was a slow day and there were barely any customers coming in. Tenten remained in the back while the only person in the kitchen was Chouji who barely came out.

The quiet and slow atmosphere gave Sasuke some time to think but there was just so much going on in his head. First of all, how come he was never told that Hinata would be gone. Of course, any employee would like to know if his boss was going to be gone. Secondly, he could not figure out whether what Tenten said was true. He tried to call back any time he had called Hinata by her name before today, which only led to a sad realization that he never really called her by anything, barely her name. He would just call her the owner, his boss, or sometimes nothing when they spoke. It was as if he tried to avoid saying her name. But then when did he start calling her by her first name.

Realizing that somehow, in his mind, he had started calling her Hinata and now today was the first day where it slipped out of his mouth, Sasuke felt a slight heat rise up to his ears. He brought a hand up to his mouth and looked around to make sure no one was there, before he whispered her name into his hand for only him to hear.

"Hinata." It sounded different now that he was aware of saying it. Feeling something weird in his chest along with the heat on his ears, Sasuke bit the inside of his cheek as he brought his hand down, trying to calm the redness before someone showed up. Now knowing that he was actually saying it made it even more daunting and exhilarating, but harder to say out loud. How had he even let it slip so easily in front of Tenten.

...

* * *

...

Days were getting longer as Spring was finally beginning to bloom with bright colors outside, but for Hinata even those colors could not lift the weight on her chest that had been following her for some time. There were times where she was able to forget it, but that was only temporary, and getting harder with every passing day. She knew she should not be feeling this way because if she continued like this then the feeling would only get worse. The sooner she accepted this as her reality the better, but somewhere along the way she realized that it was so much easier to forget and sometimes fantasize about things she knew she could not and should not.

"Are you ready?" She looked up to the tall figure looming at the doorway, patiently waiting for a response.

"Yes," she said, trying her best to hold back a sigh because the last thing she wanted was to let it show how much this affected her.

Hinata stood from her spot on the sofa and smoothed her hand over any wrinkles in her dress before walking over to the person waiting for her. They extended an arm for her to wrap her hand around, and lead her to the room where everyone was celebrating. It was a special day and she should be happy too since it was her sister's birthday, but circumstances had made it hard to be truly happy. If this was another world where she was free from her burdens, she knew she would have been the happiest for her little sister, but that was just another fantasy she could dream of to let this pass easily.

"Just for today and then you can go back," the person by her side tried giving her a smile but Hinata could tell that they knew it was not going to end with just today because it was just the beginning.

...

* * *

...

"She's back today. She just went out to get something but she'll be here later," Tenten said as she filled the takeaway cups on the counter by the coffee thermos while Sasuke filled them with fresh coffee. Chouji had thought it would be a good idea to sell coffee because it made good with some of the baked items they sold. Obviously, he had to ask the owner first about it, which he did, and now they were selling coffee.

"Hn," Sasuke replied without much reaction, on the outside, but his body did not fail to send a rush to his chest. It was not like he was glad or anything.

"I'm just letting you know," Tenten shrugged. "Your mood seemed a bit down these past few days."

"What? Don't be ridiculous. My mood was not down because she was gone." Sasuke said with a frown before he realized he was reacting more than he should, but it had been too late at that point.

"I never said your mood was down because of her," she continued innocently as if she did not notice his little outburst, but the smirk on her face said otherwise.

Sasuke gave her a sideways glare which she just ignored as she continued smirking.

"Alright, I'm all done here," she said once she was done stacking the cups before turning to leave. "I'll be heading out now." Tenten went in to the employees' room before Sasuke could say anything about her early departure.

Her shift would usually go as long as his, but today she was leaving early.

"I'll see you tomorrow!" she said to Sasuke as she walked out of the room and headed to the door leaving him alone in the store.

A little confused as to why she had not mentioned about ending her shift early, Sasuke just sighed and rolled his eyes as he went back to organizing the counter.

Not long after, the bell on the front door rang to tell him that someone had just walked in. Straightening himself up from behind the counter, Sasuke looked up to see the person in front of him. He did not know how long it had been since he took in some air into his lungs, but it was coming up short as he just stood there, not knowing what to say.

"Hi," Hinata said with an amused look when she saw Sasuke standing there with a cleaning rag in his hand almost stuck in his position.

"…Hi." He cleared his throat before looking away and continuing what he had been doing earlier.

He heard her approach closer as he cursed internally for not being able to control the heat he felt at the tip of his ears. It was embarrassing how he could not say anything to her as soon as he saw her. What was wrong with him.

"Are you here all alone?" she asked once she got to the counter.

"Yeah," he answered as he realized that Tenten was gone and that they were the only two left in the store. He swallowed his uneasiness that rose to his throat before he decided to say something. "So…How was your trip to your family?"

He peaked from the corner just in time to see the slight look of sorrow pass through her features for a mere second before hiding it behind a mask of a smile.

"It was good. I had to visit because it was my little sister's birthday and she really wanted me to come," she giggled as she remembered Hanabi's look of surprise and excitement when she saw her there. That was probably the only thing that kept her stable through the past few days.

Sasuke did not know how he felt hearing about her sister even though it was one more thing he got to know about her.

"Did you enjoy it?" he asked casually as a follow-up, hoping to keep the conversation going but in return he just received silence.

Hinata leaned on the counter as she thought about things she really wanted to avoid. She knew Sasuke did not mean anything by it, however if she really had to be honest, she hated it every time she went to visit her family. But she could not tell him that.

"Yeah," she finally said with the same fake smile, Sasuke noticed, as she straightened herself to head to the kitchen before Sasuke reached out to grab her wrist, stopping her in her tracks.

"Is everything…okay?" He did not know why he did that but he just could not let her leave. It was not like he was any good at talking or comforting people but he knew there was something that Hinata was hiding.

"W-why are you asking that?" she asked a little defensively, worried that he noticed something.

"Hinata, if th-" His sentence was cut short by her sudden gasp and the tug of her wrist in his hand as he came to realize why she was so surprised.

His neck and his ears felt the heat of his blush as he let go of her wrist and looked away from her in disbelief. He could not believe he let it slip in front of her after he had prepped himself so much to not do so.

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean…to be so familiar. I just," Sasuke spoke as he tried to come up with something since the look of surprise on her face was not helping.

Suddenly, she burst out laughing as his heart began to beat faster. Confused and a little relieved, Sasuke just stared at her with a look of surprise.

"I…I'm not upset," she said between her laughs as she tried to calm herself. "I was just surprised." She smiled and this time he could tell it was genuine. "You can call me Hinata if you want. Tenten calls me Ms. Hinata but that makes me feel old," she giggled as she could see the look of relief on Sasuke's face.

"Okay," he said not knowing what else to say, having forgotten what he was asking her earlier.

"Great!" She gave him one last smiled before turning towards the kitchen. "It's almost time to close up so let's clean up."

"Hinata," Sasuke called out to her before she could leave, causing her to look back at him.

Even though she had just told him, actually hearing him say it now made her feel a little shy as her cheeks gained some color with a slight blush. But even so, she smiled at him waiting for him to continue as she did not want him to think that she disliked him calling her by her name.

"Oh…" not sure what to say or why he even said her name, Sasuke tried to come up with something on the spot. "What…was the name of that…ramen restaurant we went to? I really liked it," he cringed internally at his blatant lie, "and I was thinking to get it tonight for dinner." He could not believe he just said that.

"You mean Ichiraku Ramen? You really liked it?" she asked as Sasuke just reluctantly nodded. "...I was...just going to go there for dinner myself after closing up here," she lied. "Do you...want to come with me?" she asked as she tried ignoring the thought in her head asking her why she was doing this.

"…Okay," Sasuke responded, a little unsure of himself. Whether it was ramen or anything else, it was better than being in alone in that empty house.

"Okay," she repeated, as if to make sure she heard the right word. "Let's clean up here quickly," she said eagerly as she went to the kitchen. She did not know what she was doing or why she was so happy for a simple dinner, but if she could just forget for a little while, then she could care less about anything else.

As she headed to the kitchen, Sasuke stayed in the front as he tried to control his anticipation. If he was being honest with himself, he was looking forward to dinner, but being who he was, he tried to bury that fact. All he knew was that he was just going to share a simple meal with Hinata.

"Hinata," he whispered her name to himself once again before biting his tongue to stop himself from saying anymore. He liked saying her name and that was just another fact he was going to bury without giving it much thought.

* * *

 _I was gone for a bit but I'm back now, hehe. Honestly, I apologize for not being steady with updates._

 _Thank you to everyone who is still here and everyone who commented on, favorited and followed my story._

 _I know things are moving slowly and everyone loves that, but I promise it will change when I roll the ball down a steep hill. I just want to set things up first. Also, this being my first time writing a long story like this, I'm really trying to make it work as I go along and learn more about writing, which is why I always ask for reviews as they help me so much. I'm not even kidding and why would I?_

 _In the end, I hope you enjoy this, and don't forget to leave your thoughts in the reviews._


	9. Chapter 9

**Short but hopefully sweet.**

* * *

"Do you...want to come with me?" she asked as the gnawing feeling at the back of her mind told her to stop, but it was too late for that now.

As soon as the words left her mouth, she could feel anxiety creep up on her, instantly making her regret her question. Why was she doing this?

Even though she had made the offer, in her mind she was begging the boy to refuse her. She knew she should be the one but instead she let the responsibility fall on the young boy right in front of her. And that was an awful thing of her to do, she thought, as she saw how his eyes widened just the slightest giving her a sort of elation that she should not be feeling.

"…Okay," she heard him say as whatever she was thinking was replaced by mild shock.

"Okay," she repeated, much for herself as she tried to let go of the thoughts trying to rise up in her head. She'll just have to figure them out later.

…

* * *

…

It was five years ago when Naruto realized how different he was from his best friend. Of course, no two people are the same, but still the blond thought that he understood what others went through.

Naruto had been an orphan from a young age so he never got to know his parents. He did have a guardian he really cared for, but that had happened years after he had faced some of the loneliness without anyone of his in this world. But even through that, he never let it bother him. Maybe he was naïve to think that everyone would be like that.

When Sasuke lost his parents right around the beginning of middle school, Naruto tried his best to be there for his best friend. He knew the hardships of being an orphan so he wanted to help, but a sick part of him questioned whether he was glad now that there was someone he knew who was just like him.

So, Naruto tried and tried, doing what he thought was best for a friend that was suffering, and for a while it seemed like it was getting better. Sasuke was not missing school anymore, and he seemed to be more active in class, but maybe that was just his naïve desire to see his friend back to the way he used to be.

When their first year at middle school ended, Sasuke had tried to commit suicide. No one knew about it because no one was supposed to, and no one to this day had known about it, except for the person who attempted it, and his best friend.

It was purely luck that Naruto had decided to visit Sasuke before he went away for vacation. He had wanted to say goodbye and maybe even reassure himself that Sasuke would be okay without him. What he did not expect was to see Sasuke passed out in his room with half-empty bottles on the floor raided from his family's alcohol supply.

The next couple of moments had been a blur and honestly, Naruto could not remember exactly how he did it, but somehow, he stopped Sasuke from succeeding his attempt.

There was a lot of throwing up and yelling, punching and crying, but it was all a blur. When the two had finally calmed down, there was nothing left except for Naruto to occasionally force Sasuke to drink water.

It all came down to the fact that Sasuke had passed out before he could take any more to successfully kill himself, which, in the end, left him more drunk rather than dead. Even with all the sadness and anger at himself and his best friend, Naruto was relieved at the outcome as it was better than what could have been.

When Itachi had gotten home that day, he had found two boys in his younger brother's room, sitting on the floor in a pile of bottles lying on the floor. The two had gotten in a lot of trouble as Itachi grew surprised and angry at the possibility of what had happened.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, Itachi had partially believed Naruto's story of how him and Sasuke were only being stupid as they wanted to try alcohol since everyone talked about it at school. Itachi knew that it was not something implausible but the number of bottles and the behavior of the two boys suggested otherwise. However, with nothing else to go on, the two had just received severe punishment.

After witnessing that and its aftermath where Sasuke had completely shut himself off, Naruto began questioning himself on whether he should have told the truth to Itach, or at least someone that could better help Sasuke. In the end, Naruto did not give up and instead decided to give Sasuke something that would keep him away from his own loneliness.

Sports was the only thing Naruto was good at around that time in middle school so he decided to suggest it to Sasuke who had always kept to the top at academics. He did not know how Sasuke would take his suggestion or how it would turn out, but he did not expect him to take it seriously. And so, for the next couple of years, Naruto saw his best friend gain back a part of his former self as he submerged himself into soccer. He might have also noticed the dependency Sasuke was developing to the game had he not thought that it was only helping him.

But now that Sasuke did not have the sport to keep him occupied, Naruto began to worry a little, so he decided to check up on him from time to time. He even went as far as to force him to go to places and events he knew Sasuke would never agree to on his own just to keep him from being alone.

Even with that, Naruto wondered what else he could do as Sasuke was more and more frequently refusing to hangout, and essentially pushing everyone away. What Naruto did not know was that Sasuke was not spending all his time alone. He had taken up a part time job to fill the void he was feeling at his house.

So, Naruto continued to think of ways to bring out Sasuke as he walked to his favorite ramen restaurant. He thought on his way as he passed by people, ignoring everyone in his path except for one pair that slowly came up in his view.

There was a line formed outside Ichiraku for customers waiting to be seated, and among them was a pair of dark-haired individuals who were engrossed in their own conversation. One of them was someone he was just thinking about, Sasuke, and with him was a woman who smiled up to him with a small blush.

Naruto could not believe the sight he was witnessing as he stood at the end of the line, staring at the pair quite ahead of him. Sasuke seemed relaxed at the moment, and from what he knew of his friend over the years, he was not annoyed by his company like he usually was with other girls at their school.

There was a sense of relief that Naruto felt as he smiled at his friend who was unaware of his presence. Maybe he was not as alone as he thought he was when he stopped playing soccer.

Naruto gave a one last glance to his friend and his company before taking on a content smile and turning to leave. He could get ramen another day.

…

* * *

…

Things were like this for him now, like a routine. Every Thursdays and Saturdays, he had dinner with Hinata after he finished his shift and they closed the shop. Somehow, on these days his work schedule had lined up perfectly where he was the only one left with Hinata before close up.

To Sasuke's relief, they had decided to try some new places for food other than Ichiraku Ramen. He did not like the food much there, but he still enjoyed it.

This was his routine now. Aside from those two days in the week, Sasuke still ate dinner alone, with Itachi rarely showing up from work, but he did not hate it as much as he did before. He would not say it out loud, but having something to look forward to made a difference, even if it was costing him a bit of his wallet.

"Should I start closing up at the front?" Sasuke asked Hinata who was in the kitchen.

"Oh, is it closing time already?" She brought up her wrist to look at the watch on it for the time.

It was indeed time to close up the bakery, and since it was a Saturday, they were supposed to try a new place that sold apparently really good tempura.

"Do you need help in the back?" he asked, mostly out of habit since Hinata always refused, leaving him cleaning and closing the front of the shop.

"Hmm," she hummed as she tapped on the glass of her watch. "It was working earlier," she pouted at the now broken machine. "I'll have to…" she was mostly speaking to herself without looking up to see the boy who still stood by the door, amused at her mumbling to herself.

She took a step back as she tried to fix her watch with the dial on the side, completely unaware of her surroundings. The smirk on Sasuke's face slipped as he saw her back into one of the dish racks on the walls causing one of the metal dishes on top to roll off its side and right on top of her.

"Hinata!"

Before she could look up to see what was happening, Sasuke had rushed to her. He tried to pull her away, but could not do so in time so instead he shielded her.

"What…" she asked, looking at the dish that was now on the floor. She looked up to see Sasuke who was now stepping away from her with a hiss and a hand to the side of his forehead. "Sasuke, are you okay?" Panicked by the sight of blood on his brow, Hinata lifted his hand to look at the cut that was right above his right eye. "Oh my god…Let me get the first aid kit!" she rushed.

"It's fine," he winced as she applied some antiseptic to his cut.

"No, it's not," she insisted. "You didn't have to," she bit her lip as she saw how easily it could have been his eye. "Thank you."

"Hn," he responded as he poorly tried to avoid looking at her face and how close it was to his at the moment.

She was right in front of him and he could make out the lines of worry the marred her brow as she treated his cut. He knew she would have been worried if it were anyone else, yet he tried to imagine she was only worried because it was him, as if she were to treat him differently than any other guy in her life.

After finishing covering his cut, Hinata was surprised by how close she had gotten to him. He was sitting on a chair while she stood in front of him to treat his cut. It also did not help that he was staring at her at such a close distance with no inhibition. Usually he would look away if their eyes stayed in contact for too long, but now he was not shying away, and through some censured wish Hinata felt emboldened to not look away either.

She could feel the ghost of his hands hovering close to her hips, closing in slowly for contact, and when they did, they only stayed there, as light as possible, pulling her closer. Their faces leaned closer with each breath as neither broke their stare for fear that this moment would vanish if they looked away.

When she felt his breath so close to her face, she finally realized the situation as it knocked her out of a trance. Her eyes widened only for a second before she awkwardly smiled and lightly pushed on his shoulders to create some distance.

"Y-you're all done," she whispered before turning to leave with the first aid kit. She rushed out of the kitchen as she tried to hide the bright color on her face, fanning it once she was out from his view.

Sasuke on the other hand, sat in the chair with the same color rising up his neck, but his eyes remained on his hands that stayed open in his lap, looking as if they belonged to a stranger.

For the rest of the time, the two remained silent as they quietly cleaned the shop and closed it at the end, never bringing up the situation that had occurred right before it.

"Uh, sorry, I…I can't," Hinata lamely tried to say something as they both awkwardly stood in front of the bakery.

"Yeah, me too," Sasuke added quickly before she could say more.

"Oh…okay, then I'll see you—"

"Hn," he nodded as he kept his eyes to the road.

Before the silence could drag on, the two decided to leave, each going opposite directions and neither looking back to the other.

The next day, Sasuke woke up to the realization of what had happened, or almost happened the night before, and cursed at nothing in particular. He was reluctant to go to his shift but went anyway after trying to forget as much as he could.

Right before noon, he made his way to the bakery, but on his way, he passed by a convenient store. Remembering something from the day before, he made his way into the store and walked out with a small item of purchase that he placed in his backpack.

When he made it to the bakery, most of the employees were just starting to take their lunch break except for a few that were at the front. After putting his stuff away in the employees' room and wearing his apron for his shift, Sasuke took out the box he had purchased earlier. Knowing how she always let everyone take their lunch before she did, Sasuke made his way to where he was sure Hinata was in the bakery.

She was in the pantry, taking inventory on a list in her hand, too busy to notice someone walk in through the door.

Sasuke saw her standing by the shelf in her usual clothes with her hair tied in a loose ponytail behind her. She always kept the same hairstyle and her clothes rarely changed from anything simple, yet he could not help but find it hard to look away from her.

"Oh!" she gasped, startled as she turned and saw Sasuke just standing there.

Hinata opened her mouth to say something, but as the two looked at each other, the events of the day before occurred to both of them causing each to awkwardly look away.

"I thought," Sasuke started, as he looked at the blushing woman's empty wrist and continued, "you might need this." He took out the box he brought with him and stepped closer to hand it to her.

Hinata hesitantly reached out to take the box Sasuke held out for her, all the while fighting between surprise and embarrassment as she looked up to see the mask of indifference on his face.

Having grown up with people who took pride in how well they hid their emotions, Hinata could say she was good at seeing past their masks.

"They didn't have much options so...Wear it. Don't. It's up to you," he said, without giving her a single glance before leaving the dumbfounded woman rooted in her spot.

As Sasuke left the pantry, leaving her alone there, Hinata looked at the plain box wondering what it could be. She lifted it up to inspect before pulling on the cover to open it.

Looking in to the content of the small box, Hinata's eyes widened slightly as her lips parted with a breath and her heart began to beat just a bit faster. There inside was a working wrist watch ticking with the time that was supposed to be at that moment, or maybe it was not since Hinata did not know how long she had stood there.

That day everyone working at the bakery commented at her odd choice of a bright red watch that was not what she usually wore on her wrist. But Hinata always responded with a smile that she did not care because she liked it, and unbeknownst to everyone else, Sasuke always heard that every time, even if he pretended not to, causing him to hide behind his bangs.

* * *

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...

 _As always, t_ _hank you to everyone who commented on, favorited and followed my story. You guys are all amazing._

 _I hope you guys enjoy this and don't forget to leave your thoughts in the review._


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry for the wait but here's a longer chapter to make up for it :P**

* * *

"The tempura was really good there," she said, trying to fill the silence.

"Yeah."

They had finally gone to the tempura place they were supposed to go one week ago when her watch had stopped working and Sasuke had saved her from falling dishes. She did not think much about what happened after that because she did not want to put any meaning to it.

Sasuke, on the other hand, had been affected by his actions that day, but at the moment something else had been occupying his mind.

"What's wrong?" Hinata asked hesitantly, as she could see something was on his mind throughout dinner.

Sasuke bit his cheek before deciding to ask her yet again about advice on his future. He felt frustrated for not having all of this sorted out like so many of his classmates. Even the most careless blonde he ever knew had it all figured out.

"Yesterday, my brother asked me whether I've decided where I want to go for university."

"Oh." Hinata did not expect him to actually tell her so easily. "Have you?"

"It doesn't matter," he shrugged.

Hinata frowned before opening her mouth to protest but he beat her to it.

"Everyone in my family has gone to Konoha University so I'll probably end up there too." He sounded so apathetic that Hinata was not sure what to say.

"Do you not want to go there?" she asked, unsure if that was the reason why he was thinking about it.

"I…don't know," he said after giving it some thought. "I still don't know what I want and…I just feel like I'm being drifted by some current."

Hinata bit her lip as she stared at the pavement they walked on, contemplating in silence on what she could say that would help him. She was not an accomplished adult and she had made a lot of mistakes in her past so she did not feel like the best person to give him advice. But in that moment, she really wanted to say something.

"M-maybe…it's not s-so bad to go with it." She felt so nervous saying every word out loud, hoping that she was not messing this up. It did not help that Sasuke was staring at her so intently that she could not look away from his dark eyes that reflected everything so perfectly in the night.

Raising an eyebrow in question at her statement, he waited for her to continue which she finally did with a light blush painting her features from the attention she was getting.

"W-what I meant w-was," she mentally smacked herself for stuttering so much, "right now you don't know your own path, so you can just take the one already in front of you. And that way you might find something of your own along the way too." Hinata gave him a smile as she saw his brow furrow in thought. She hoped that he would eventually be able to work out all that was bothering him so much.

"Hn," he responded before going into silence for the rest of the way to the train station.

He did not know what to take of Hinata's advice, but he did think about it for a while. April was ending soon, and with that he had to send his decision in May for the university he would attend later in the year.

Itachi had not been much involved in Sasuke's academics in high school since he was always doing well in school, but these last few months he had adamantly been inquiring his little brother on his future. Sasuke, being tired of Itachi's constant questioning, decided to take Hinata's advice and agreed to take the path that was once taken by so many Uchiha's before him, like his brother, his father, and so on.

"I'm glad you decided on this," Itachi had told him once Sasuke finally gave him an answer. "You'll do well in the company." Itachi felt proud at his decision, but mostly relieved at knowing that this way his younger brother's future would be settled.

When Sasuke had told Hinata his decision over dinner one night, her response was something he had not expected. He did not know that he was anticipating on what she would say or think as if to validate his decision. But it was the lack of it, her reaction only consisted of an 'Oh' and a look that showed she just found it interesting.

"So, you're going to Konoha U after summer?" she asked even though she knew the answer.

"Yes," he replied, a little disappointed at how she reacted.

"I'm happy for you," she finally said with a smile. "It's a really good school."

Sasuke did not want to admit it, but seeing her smile at his decision made him a little relieved to think that he was not completely lost at the moment.

…

* * *

…

"Hey man!" Naruto yelled as came up from behind Sasuke and placed an arm around his shoulders. "Haven't seen you in a while."

The raven-haired teenager decided to ignore the blonde hanging on his shoulder that he tried to shrug off as he walked out of their school.

Naruto let him walk away for a few seconds as a mischievous smile spread across his face before catching up to his quiet friend.

"What? Too busy to talk to me now that you have a girlfriend?" Naruto wiggled his eyebrows suggestively while Sasuke just stared sideways at him thinking how stupid the blonde looked.

"What the hell are you talking about, idiot?"

"Don't play dumb. I already know." Naruto continued with a knowing look but seeing how Sasuke still was confused, he dropped it for a frown. "I swear I saw you on a date with a girl at Ichiraku so don't even deny it." Naruto pointed at him. "I should've taken a picture," he whispered to himself.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and was about to disregard whatever Naruto said until he realized what he was talking about.

"I remember you were at Ichiraku, waiting in line with a girl, and you two were chatting it up, which is unusual for you," Naruto furrowed his brows in thought, "Maybe that wasn't you…No! I'm sure it was you."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Looking ahead, Sasuke decided to carry his most effective tactic, feigning ignorance.

"Don't lie! I swear I saw you."

"Maybe you should get your eyes checked then."

"Oh, is that so," Naruto said, seeing right through his friend's facade. "I guess you don't mind if I just look for that girl myself then?"

Sasuke knew what he was trying to do which was why he pointedly ignored him.

"Hn."

Naruto frowned at his friend's response. He had hoped that Sasuke would react like he always did before whenever he used to tease him, but ever since their senior year started, Naruto had seen his best friend change. He brushed it off as Sasuke being upset over not being able to play soccer. But as months went by, Naruto could see him go back to the way he was in middle school where he shut himself off from other people.

So, Naruto tried harder this time to make sure Sasuke was not alone. He would force him at times to join them at events or parties, but in hindsight, Naruto worried whether that helped at all.

"Hey… there's a party after graduation at one of my friend's house. He's from the soccer team, you might remember him."

Sasuke glared at Naruto who pretended not to notice it.

"Naruto—"

"I know, I know," the blonde spoke hearing how annoyed his best friend sounded. "I swear I'm not going to beg you or anything…I just think since we'll be graduating, this might be our last chance to hangout. Sakura will be busy with premed, you'll be busy with uni, and I'll…" He chanced a glance at Sasuke to see his reaction but the boy was looking at the time on his phone.

"Shouldn't you be heading to practice?" Sasuke raised a brow at him.

"Oh shit!" Naruto looked at his watch before turning to sprint back to the school fields. "Just think about it!" he yelled behind him to Sasuke. "And you can even bring your girlfriend." He winked before running away, leaving behind a crowd of students walking on the sidewalk to stare and whisper behind the black-haired boy who cursed at the blonde under his breath.

When he reached the bakery for his shift, he was no longer angry at Naruto, but he did think about the party he had invited him to. If it was any other time, Sasuke would have immediately rejected it, and depending on how much Naruto would have argued, he might have gone in the end.

But this time, it was different because things were going to change between him and the people he had known since childhood. If the past few weeks were anything to go by, things had already changed between him and Sakura. She would not approach him for conversations any longer and only greeted him from a distance with a smile. Naruto, on the other hand, was the same as ever, but knowing how outgoing he was, Sasuke knew the blonde would only get busier with activities once they started college.

They were all going in different directions and he found it frustrating to admit how lonely it made him feel in the end. It was pathetic, but that was the truth since he was always good at distancing himself, and now that he was going to be surrounded with nothing but strangers at university, he was sure to end up on his own again.

There would be no annoying blonde who would pester him day after day no matter how hard Sasuke ignored him. All there would be left were school and a lifetime bound to serving his father's company just like his older brother. Was that all what he had to look forward to?

"What are you thinking about?"

Having a sense of déjà vu, Sasuke turned to see Hinata stand beside him with a curious look on her face. Remembering how Naruto had mistaken her to be his girlfriend, Sasuke awkwardly coughed to avert his gaze.

"Nothing," he replied, without looking at her.

"You know, I've noticed that with you it's usually the opposite whenever you say 'nothing.'" She walked forward to lean on the counter, tilting her head to look at his face as he kept staring at the door to the front, hoping for a customer to walk in at that moment. "Is it school?"

When he did not respond, Hinata continued.

"Your brother?" Still no response. "M-maybe…it's a girlfriend?"

"No, it's nothing." He turned to glare at her, but that had only surprised her as a blush grew on her cheeks, which confused him.

She straightened herself before whispering an apology for bothering him and heading to the kitchen.

The words were on the tip of his tongue to stop her from leaving but he refrained since it made no sense to do so.

Thinking back on the word 'girlfriend,' Sasuke thought to himself how ridiculous it was for Naruto to think that just because he saw them talking at a restaurant.

It was ridiculous because it could never happen. She could never be his girlfriend. Someone like that could never be. And why was that so, he did not know. But in the end, it did not matter because he did not need a girlfriend.

Sasuke never thought of himself as someone who was keen on the idea of a relationship, especially since the majority of people who had any interest in him had it for superficial reasons. But, maybe, just maybe, if he were ever to, he wouldn't mind...

Feeling his ears warm up at his train-of-thought, Sasuke literally shook his head to clear his mind before going back to mending the register just in time for a customer to walk in.

Hinata, on the other hand, stood in her kitchen with her hands to her burning cheeks as she tried to cool down her blush. Looking around at the empty room she sighed in relief that there was no one to witness her acting like an idiot.

Earlier, when she had tried to pry out from Sasuke what was bothering him, he had taken to avoiding her gaze. This somehow led her to unconsciously let her eyes wander.

She knew that the boy was handsome in the conventional sense, and his popularity with girls at school was evident from Sakura. But Hinata had not stopped to observe him herself.

She saw how his pale skin was smooth and contrasted so perfectly with his dark hair. His sharp nose and soft features blended well with his strong jaw. As her eyes trailed up his neck and landed on his lips, she could not help but remember the time when they almost kissed as she uttered the last of her question without much thought.

She could not believe she just asked him about a girlfriend, but when Sasuke abruptly turned to glare at her, she was embarrassed to realize that she had just been staring at him so openly.

Shaking her head to dispel her thoughts, Hinata went back to working in the kitchen for the rest of the time.

By the end of Sasuke's shift, when Tenten had just arrived, the two were still too embarrassed to look each other in the eye when saying goodbye, which was nothing but amusing for Tenten to watch.

…

* * *

…

What was so special about graduating high school? They had been through elementary school, middle school and now high school, but the graduation for first two held no comparison to the last one. People put so much weight on finishing high school, not because of its merit but its significance as a passage of rite. Sasuke could not understand that because high school was not the end for them. They still had college and maybe even further more to go to be fully accepted into the working field. The present was different where a simple high school degree would not get anyone anywhere, yet its significance still held on.

Standing in line among all the other students in his grade, Sasuke waited for his turn to walk on the field. All he had to do was walk in a line, making sure he was not too fast or too slow, until he reached the stage to get an empty cover for his diploma from some admin at his school and take a picture. It was such a simple thing but they had to practice one week for it just to make sure everyone knew the order and did not mess up, yet there were still some hiccups. There was a girl who wore brand new heels to graduation without realizing how much they would hurt to walk in them as she slowly made her way on the field, limping, and causing the line to drag. It did not help that Naruto had to stand right behind Sasuke because of how their last names lined up on the roster. His constant whispering and attempts at teasing Sasuke made the hot day even more unbearable.

"Don't forget the party tonight!" Naruto would whisper every few minutes to Sasuke until he hissed a "fine!" with a twitch of his eyebrow, to which Naruto only grinned and winked.

After listening to some speeches and finishing the ceremony, pictures were taken with staff and other students, most of whom Sasuke did not know. Naruto had taken upon himself to drag Sasuke so he could be in almost every photo with him. Sakura too had squeezed herself in some of them, and finally, after some courage, she had dared to ask Sasuke for a photo of just the two of them. He was reluctant but nodded his approval, causing her to gasp in surprise and then grab his arm to pose for the camera in her mother's hand with a bright smile.

Everything went by pretty fast, and Sasuke just felt like a bystander watching everything happen. The only thing he would admit that made this day a tad more special than any other was the fact that Itachi had taken time off his work to be at the ceremony. He had even taken the time to be with him afterwards, taking pictures on a camera Sasuke did not know they owned.

At the end when people were dwindling and Naruto had loosened his grip on his best friend, he decided it was time to go, but not before Itachi asked some random stranger on the field to take a picture of him with his little brother. Sasuke tried his best to hide his emotion in the tumult from the crowd around them, but a smile did sneak up on him as it was evident in digital proof of the photo they took on the camera.

 _Don't forget the party!1!_ Sasuke read the text on his phone that buzzed under Naruto's name for the third time.

Sighing, Sasuke put the camera down and made his way to the front door to put on his shoes. He was not looking forward to this, but if he was honest, he did not want to regret it since it was the last time he would get to do something like this, especially with Naruto.

 _On my way_ , replied Sasuke as he headed out the door locking it behind him.

…

* * *

…

"Ugh," Sasuke groaned at the sunlight shining through his blinds into his room in the early morning. It was only a few hours ago that he got back to his house so he was still tired, but the sun right out his window had already woken him, making it harder to go back to sleep.

He had not had a drink so he was glad for the absence of a hangover, but he did end up staying out later than he had anticipated. It was weird how he actually enjoyed last night unlike the other times he had been to a party. This time, he was even more inclined to join the guys on the soccer team he was once such a big part of.

He could not play competitively anymore so he had cut them off entirely. Maybe it was because he was envious, and hated his teammates' pitying gaze, but last night he forgot about all that and just pretended like it was the same as before. He talked with them about old times and reminisced about games they had played together. He patiently listened to their new games and what he had missed without a shred of resentment.

…

* * *

…

 _Congratulations on Graduating!_ The card in Sasuke's locker read the greeting as it was neatly placed in the middle with a cupcake wrapped in a box sitting in front of it. It had a small cap and what seemed to be a diploma decorated on top.

It had been a few days since he had a shift at the bakery because of all the ceremony practice and final exams he had to take. Now it was two days since his graduation that he finally got to come in for a full shift, and as soon as he went to the employee locker room to put his stuff away, he was greeted by this card and a cupcake.

"Oh, you finally got that." Tenten spoke from beside Sasuke who was still staring at the present. "She wanted to give it to you in person, but she couldn't so I guess she put it here before she left so you could see it."

"She's not here?"

"No," Tenten shook her head as she put her stuff away. "You should eat it instead of just staring at it. I'm sure she didn't make it for that." Sasuke rolled his eyes but took the cupcake and the card out and replaced it with his stuff in the locker. "She probably made it fresh for you this morning."

Sasuke stared at it the cupcake some more as he contemplated how he actually felt about it.

"I got one yesterday too, you know, so don't think you're special."

Sasuke glared at the brunette beside him as she just stuck her tongue out at him before heading out of the room.

Looking back at the cupcake in his hand, Sasuke contemplated eating it or not. He hated sweet things of any kind, but this was something she made for him, and even if he was not the only recipient, it was special. But on the other hand, it was sweet. It was a tough choice.

Placing the cupcake back in the locker, not wanting to think about it right now, Sasuke took out the card and opened it to see her handwriting scribbled at one corner with a cordial message of praise at finishing high school and an apology for not giving it in person. It was a simple message that any person would give to another as a normal thing, but it being from her in her handwriting made it different for Sasuke. Not liking how such a small thing was causing his heart to beat just a bit faster, he placed the card beside the cupcake and shut the locker door on all the thoughts that were swirling in his mind.

From there on, his summer had been quite ordinary. He spent almost every day at the bakery as he prepared for college to start. He had orientation to attend, classes to register for, supplies to buy and plenty more to do, but most importantly he had to decide where he would live for his first year. Most students decided to live in the dorms their first year, but Sasuke's house was a little more than an hour long train ride away from campus. He could manage it if he really wanted to, especially since he was not too fond of the idea of sharing a room with some random stranger, but Itachi insisted that he experience this just like he had when he started college.

In all honesty, Sasuke had relented all control of his choices so far when it came to college. He still felt unsure and aimless so he followed his brother's advice without question. Even if he had no conviction, he did not want to mess this up.

And so, his summer went along, stuck in this rut of getting ready for college and working at the bakery. The only respite within these days was the fact that he was at the bakery with a certain person with pale eyes that were a complete opposite of his own. He did not realize it at first but at many occasions he had caught himself staring at her. Unconsciously he would look for her as soon as he entered the small shop, and when he did he would memorize her form as if he was seeing her for the first time. They did not talk much since both were not quite talkative, but he could feel how relaxed and easy it felt for them to talk to each other. He liked hearing her voice, and her daily banter on the random stuff around them. He felt comfortable, even in the silence.

Every day felt the same for him, until it was getting closer to the end of summer vacation for him. Things began moving fast for him, especially around his birthday.

Every year, when the day came for Sasuke to be a year older, nothing seemed any different to him. He felt the same as he did the day before, or even as the year before. But this time it was different.

It was already a few weeks past his birthday since he had turned eighteen in July, but he still felt different. Maybe it was the idea that he was supposed to be considered an adult now that made him see this in a new light.

Nobody at his work knew that his birthday had passed, since he never mentioned it, and Itachi had wished him only once as he headed back to work. Naruto and Sakura had wanted to do something special for the day but he had refused, forcing them to opt for something simple. He would have outright refused to do anything, but knowing they would not let up on this since they always pulled something on his birthday, he decided to compromise. It wasn't too bad for the first time going out for dinner just to celebrate his birthday. He did just turn eighteen.

"Sasuke, thank you for rearranging the display." Hinata stood behind him, right by the kitchen door, smiling her candid smile like she always did. "You've been such a help this summer, thank you," she continued as he nodded at her, not meeting her eyes.

Most of the part-timers at the bakery had been students, and with summer vacation starting, one-by-one most of them had taken off for holidays spent with family. Some were even quitting to start college early. This had left only a few of the staff to take up more shifts. Luckily, the bakery was not too busy so Hinata had not needed to hire more than one or two more people.

"Sasuke, do you have plans for the summer?" He really liked the sound of his name from her voice. "It's almost halfway gone, and all you've done is spend it here." Hinata frowned as she crossed her arms across her chest.

Staring at her pout and the small crease of her blouse right above her chest, Sasuke swallowed before answering.

"I don't really…have any plans."

"Really?" she asked incredulously. "This is your last summer after high school before you're off to college, and you're not going to do anything?" Hinata did not know why she was so surprised since that was how it was for her, but she was like a hermit back then so it was not the same.

"I did go out with some friends a couple weeks ago," Sasuke defended, not liking how she might view him as a loner.

"Oh! Where did you go?" she asked as she came closer to lean by the counter next to him. It was one of those slow days in the bakery so she was dying for a conversation to pass the time, not to mention she got to hear Sasuke speak more than just grunts or one-word answers.

"…Romano's Italian restaurant by the station near my school."

"Oh, I've never been there. Do you like Italian food?" Hinata leaned closer, fascinated by how unreserved Sasuke was today.

"It's okay," Sasuke shrugged. "But at the restaurant they sing for you on your birthday." Sasuke winced at the memory of the staff that had come out to sing him a happy birthday after Naruto and Sakura had told them about his birthday. He was not aware of such a thing, and even his hardest glare could not stop them as they just giggled at how annoyed he looked.

"That's nice," she smiled, "did you go to celebrate someone's birthday?"

Sasuke paused as he realized he had to tell her that it was his birthday. He was unsure whether he wanted to or not.

"Yeah," he answered, wondering why he felt so awkward.

"You must've really enjoyed that," Hinata teased.

"Yeah, like hell I did," he shot back as the woman just laughed at his reaction.

"I can't even imagine you sitting through something like that if it was your birthday."

He had to admit that it was one of the most cringe-worthy memories of him glaring at his friends and awkwardly trying to ignore the attention caused by the singers shouting his name in the restaurant. He did not want to go through having to listen to a rendition of happy birthday in the tune of Under the Sea song from The Little Mermaid ever again.

"Somehow I did," he muttered with a shake of his head at the unbelievable predicament.

"W-what…They sang for you?" she asked to which Sasuke only nodded. "No way…" Hinata gaped in surprise momentarily before becoming serious. "What tune did they sing it in?" she asked with her eyes staring at him and her face expressionless.

"…Under the Sea," he almost whispered turning to look at the counter as if something had caught his attention. At the sound of her laughter bursting, Sasuke moved further to hide his face behind his hair. He could feel his ears warm, but for some reason he did not hate that he was embarrassed in front of Hinata.

"From The Little Mermaid?" He nodded in response."No way…I'm sorry," she laughed in between with her hand covering her smile, unable to control herself. "I didn't…mean to laugh," she finally got out as she continued to laugh with tears forming in her eyes.

He chanced a glance at her face from the corner of his eye, seeing how flushed she looked as she laughed so much that her eyes squinted. Unable to look away as a smile crept on his face before he began to chuckle with her as well. He remembered how awful the singers had carried the tune while singing his name in the crowded restaurant, and how Naruto and Sakura had looked as they snickered and recorded the whole show. Looking bad, it was not too bad, Sasuke thought.

"Oh god," Hinata sighed as she finally calmed herself. "I'm s-sorry, I just couldn't control it when you said…," she giggled again. "Did they really sing happy birthday to you in that tune?"

"Yes."

"W-with your name and all?"

"Yes."

"In the m-middle of t-the restaurant?" she asked, trying her best to hold in her laughter.

"Yes," Sasuke sighed even though he still held a smile as Hinata laughed once more at his expense.

"What I would have paid to see that!"

"Too bad, I'm never doing that again." Hinata pouted while Sasuke only smirked at her.

"So how old are you now?"

"Eighteen," he answered without much thought but the sudden change in Hinata's features caused him to pause. It was subtle and anyone would have missed it were it not for Sasuke's acute observations.

"Oh…congratulations, you're almost an adult now," she said teasingly but there was an undertone to her voice.

"Last I checked, eighteen is considered an adult in this country," Sasuke raised an eyebrow at how her eyes narrowed.

"You're right, it does." She pushed away from the counter to head back to the kitchen, but not before turning with a bright blush by the door to look at the only other person in the bakery with her. "B-but...I'll consider you an adult when you're legal to drink with m-me," she looked at him once more before heading into the kitchen, leaving Sasuke to stare blankly at the space she had just stood by.

What did she mean by that, Sasuke thought as his ears began to warm once again. While on the other side of the wall, hidden from his view through the small window in the door, Hinata stood with her back to the wall and her hands fisted, bunching up her shirt in the palms.

That was a stupid thing to say, Hinata thought as she smacked her forehead with her hand multiple times hoping to knock some sense into her. She should have just congratulated him or given a belated "happy birthday," she thought. Even though she was not eighteen anymore, she once had been and she should have known how special it felt to turn the year you might be considered an adult, even if it had very little meaning. It was just that hearing him say it made her realize how young he still was, and that brought a sort of disappointment in her which utterly confused her. But nonetheless, even if she thought he was still so young, for Sasuke turning eighteen might have been a big deal.

Even though Hinata had hoped Sasuke had forgotten or at least disregarded her stupid comment, as days passed by Sasuke only began to ponder on it more and more. It was enticing at first, the thought of being able to have a drink with Hinata, but then slowly he thought more on it to realize that she still saw him as a child.

She was older than him, that much was apparent, but by how much, he was not sure. It could not be much, maybe less than Itachi who was almost ten years older than him, but even with years between them, Sasuke found it unnerving to know how she thought of him as just a child. Talking to her, and being with her in the bakery was easy. He barely ever thought about how much older she was, but at the same time it was possible that Hinata never saw him as anyone more than just a teenager, which was true, but he wanted her to think of him as an equal, for lack of a better word. He wanted to be equal in his position in society. He wanted to be equal in her consideration. He wanted to be equal in her eyes.

…

* * *

…

"Why're you grouchier than usual?" Naruto asked as he sprawled across his floor after tossing the controlled to the side once they finished their seventh game on Street Fighter.

"Who's grouchy?" Sasuke snapped as he fiddled with the controller, pretending to pick his next avatar. He had somehow found himself being dragged to Naruto's house on his day off from the bakery, and now he was in the blonde's room playing video games and eating junk food.

"See what I mean!" He waved his hand in air as if to make a point. "You get annoyed so easily these days." Naruto sat up to stare at his friend in concern as he chewed on a pocky stick.

"Naruto," Sasuke warned, "you always spout some idiotic nonsense, I swea—"

"Is it about your girlfriend," Naruto cut him off.

At the silence that came from the Uchiha as he just sat there glaring at the TV screen, thinking of ways to punch Naruto, the blonde took a serious tone as all signs of teasing left his face.

"Do you…like this girl?" he asked without looking at the only other person in the room.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sasuke snapped, almost about to break the controller in his hands.

"Don't try to hide it from me!" Suddenly Naruto got angry and yelled at Sasuke as if accusing him.

Confused at why Naruto was so upset Sasuke only stared at him, waiting for him to continue.

"You've been…You've been pushing me and Sakura, always ignoring us away whenever we call or text." Naruto had always tried to ignore this subject whenever he was with Sasuke. Even today when he had to practically beg after showing up unannounced at the other boy's house, he did not want to confront him, but once he had started, he could not hold back. "I know it annoyed you hanging out with me and the team but at least you would get out of the house sometimes. Now, you don't even come out when I invite you. I don't know if you're cooped up in your house all the time or what. This past semester all I've seen you do is go to school and then go home. I don't want you to…" Naruto could not finish, huffing slightly in exasperation at the blank stare on Sasuke's face, and at the fact that he had bared some of what he was feeling so openly.

"…You're an idiot," Sasuek said as he pretended to go back to the game. He figured that Naruto did not know about his part time job, but the realization that his friend was still concerned over him made him feel something different.

"Look, Sasuke." The sudden change in Naruto's tone to something Sasuke was not used to hearing made him want to avoid looking at his face. The memory of Naruto finding him passed out on his bedroom floor when they were in middle flashed by in his mind, making it more difficult to face him. "I know we're not always going to see each other, especially now that we're all going in different directions. But…all I want to know is that you're not alone, pushing people away from you. I want you to be with people that genuinely make you happy."

After several minutes of awkward silence, Sasuke finally made a move to toss the controller at his best friend with a noncommittal "idiot" as an insult while Naruto just laughed after having slightly blushed from saying all the cheesy stuff. It was uncomfortable to say and even to hear, but Naruto felt that it was important to let Sasuke know at least once what he was actually feeling.

"Hey!" Naruto caught the controlled with ease as he smiled at the way his best friend tried to subtly hide behind his bangs. "I mean that was all cool and stuff to say, buuuuut," Sasuke perked at his teasing tone, for once anticipating what idiotic thing would come out of his mouth next. "How're things going between you and your girl?" Naruto wiggled his eyebrows with a huge grin as Sasuke just rolled his eyes. The blonde still thought that him and Hinata were together, and in truth Sasuke had done nothing to dissuade his delusion.

"You're mistaken," he simply stated, convinced that it was enough effort on his part to dispel any misunderstanding, even though he knew he needed more than that for Naruto.

"Suuure," Naruto drawled, as Sasuke just shrugged thinking that at least he tried to convince him otherwise. "You can say whatever you want, but I know you like her." Naruto leaned forward with a cheeky grin at the frown growing on Sasuke's face.

"What?" Sasuke asked, confused at how Naruto could even come up with something like that.

"I know I only saw you guys once, but even just from that I could tell." Naruto nodded, feeling wise like a sage as he grabbed a pack of chips and popped it open on the wrong side.

"You seriously need to get your eyes checked."

"But I'm serious!" Naruto said as he munched on the fallen chips. "I saw you, and you've never been like that with any girl. You almost looked normal." He emphasized on the word "normal".

"Just because I talk normally to people who are sane doesn't mean I like them." Sasuke shook his head at how ridiculous Naruto sounded and was ready to disregard anything he said until he spoke again.

"I don't know," Naruto shrugged, "you just looked like you wanted to be there with her, and you're the most antisocial person I've ever met."

Sasuke did not know if it was the insult at being called antisocial or the fact that Naruto read him so well that made him shove a pillow at the blonde's face, but after that the boys decided to let go of the matter, to Sasuke's relief, and went back to playing their video game.

Naruto had not meant it to be a super deep conversation in that regard, and Sasuke knew that, but for some reason he kept thinking back to it. Did he really like spending his time with her, he thought.

Making observations on the past and during the shifts he still had, Sasuke concluded that he did not hate being around her like he would have with a majority of other person, let alone a girl. But that simply did not mean that he liked her, more so it probably meant that he tolerated her, or at least that was what he believed.

However, as the days carried on as fast as ever, Sasuke felt restless. Soon he was going to move away and start college, and even though he would be away almost an hour by train in downtown, Itachi had pushed him to quit his job after summer. Sasuke had agreed at the moment, knowing how inconvenient it would be to travel that much just for a small shift for money that he honestly did not need. But now, as he thought about his work ending at this small, insignificant shop, Sasuke could not help but think whether he should have not given his two weeks' notice.

But it was too late now. It was already decided, so instead he just worked like normal and counted his days until he finished. One thing was unnerving though, and it was the fact that Hinata had remained the same also. He knew that by now she knew from Chouji of his leaving, but not once had she mentioned it or brought it up. She was still talking to him like always, and smiling without a falter.

Was his absence not going to affect her, he thought, as he gazed at her back while she stood atop a stool in the pantry, marking items for inventory.

"Ah, Sasuke! Could you get this down for me?" she asked once she noticed his presence. It was close to closing time for the shop, and it being a slow day had made it perfect to stock the pantry.

Looking at Hinata now, Sasuke had a sense of déjà vu feeling his heart race a bit as he realized that this scene was from a dream he had once.

"You can do the rest tomorrow. It's almost time to close up."

"Tsk tsk, Sasuke," she looked back to smile at the boy behind her, "already slacking right before you leave us."

Sasuke said nothing as he walked up and got the item she had asked for. Even after doing that, he stood a few feet back looking at her as she went back to her task without giving him much mind.

He figured that she was aware of his leaving, but to watch her say it and not be affected by it made something twist in his chest.

"Maybe…I should just stay." He did not know why he was saying it or where he was going with this.

"You mean not quit?" she frowned. "Of course not, you're moving to your college aren't you."

"But I can take the train and come here," it sounded so pathetic to him because it felt like he was pleading or arguing when he already knew what he had to do.

"It's way too far, and it's not worth it," she shook her head as Sasuke saw a few strands of her hair fall from her ponytail. "You're going to have classes, studies and other activities. Plus, why would you come back to a small place like this."

Even from standing behind her, without being able to see her face, he could tell the sad smile she held from her wistful tone. It sounded unhopeful and defeated, which made something in him ache.

"Because…I like you."

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 _Hello everyone, and I'm sorry. I've been gone for so long now. I hadn't plan for this to happen but I couldn't come back to this story. I did get busy this past couple of months, but to be honest, I had a hard time writing past the last chapter. I don't really know what a writer's block is suppose to feel like since I'm just starting to write longer fics for the first time, but it did take me a long time to get this chapter to somewhere I felt at least somewhat satisfied with. I have an outline and I'm trying to write the best I can but sometimes it's hard to put out something when you're not happy with it, fearing that you will disappoint. So I apologize for delaying this so much. I won't promise anything but I am trying my best. I really enjoy writing stories and making my ideas into words so I want to move forward and continue so I can get to a point where I can write so much more._

 _Thank you to everyone who read my story, favorited it, followed it, and stuck by it till now. I really appreciate every one of you, especially the ones who leave their thoughts in the comments. You guys make my day when I read them. So, thank you :')_

 _PS: just a side note, I'm trying to portray Sasuke as a teenage boy. This is an AU so he isn't a shinobi or an avenger. He's just a normal teenage boy who has some issues and is antisocial, but he is a little innocent in the sense that he has never experienced such emotions. I hope that came across through this, so it didn't seem like he was out of character. I know I need practice but I hope it shows._

 _Don't forget to leave your thoughts in the comments, and I hope you enjoyed this!_


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